Welcome to Calgary, Alberta, Canada, home of the Responsible Pet Ownership Bylaw!

Calgary has seen a huge reduction in dog bites even though the population has increased dramatically. They achieved an all time low in dog incidents this year. This is without Breed-Specific Legislation, mandatory neutering (although it is highly encouraged) or limiting the number of pets you can own. Their animal control facility is state-of-the-art with a friendly staff and an eye to customer service. Even with these successful programs in place and a proven track record to back them up, Calgary is looking to the future. They have broken ground for the free spay/neuter clinic to be available to less well-off families and strive for even higher licensing compliance. This program fits any size town, city or province.

Calgary, Alberta – home of the most successful animal control program in North America.

A Solution That Works: Upholds Public Safety

• Calgary’s animal control is not funded by taxpayer dollars since their dog licensing rate is 95%.
• Dog bites in Calgary have gone down from 2000 in 1985 to 158 in 2009 to 123 in 2011.
• They take the time in Calgary to keep detailed records of bites (200 point record for each incident).
• Punishment for being an irresponsible owner is severe.
• Effective laws that protect responsible dog owner’s rights and holding only irresponsible owners accountable is required. We implore the media to report responsibility and support the thousands and thousands of responsible dog owning citizens facing BSL and who are and have been unfairly victimized by this legislation.

THE GOAL

From mission statement to action, our goal is to:

• Identify the issues.
• Engage the community.
• Build a process that works.
• Make people see licensing as win-win (95% voluntary compliance).
• Back it up (5% enforcement).
• Measure It (how do you know you are improving?).

4 Principles of Responsible Pet Ownership

• License and provide permanent identification for your pets.
• Spay or neuter your pets.
• Provide training, care and proper medical attention for your pets.
• Don’t allow pets to become a threat or a nuisance.

Make it Easy

• Make licenses easy to buy.
• Encourage training, socialization and exercise for a better behaved dog.
• Create easy access to well-regulated off-leash areas.

Getting Results

• Conduct programs targeting kids of all ages.
• Promote responsible pet ownership.
• Foster safe and responsible communities.
• Teach young people proper pet ownership and how to treat animals.

Information courtesy of Bill Bruce, Calgary, AB