Comments on: Don’t let Vancouver go to the dogs

By: Jonah

Jonah — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 06:41:41 +0000

Nice article. My only contention is your callous description of “pampered pooches” in dog pounds. It makes no sense because stray and abandoned dogs are the ones in dog pounds; the pampered pooches are the ones with homes.

By: Erin

Erin — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 21:38:01 +0000

Wow.

I am not a journalist, but to omit information (“my research uncover those as well”) that goes again your predetermined bias is somewhat unethical. I guess I’m out of touch with modern journalism. We can debate about where libraries and animal shetlers / pounds fit within a societies hierarchy of needs, but to exclude information is to prevent the debate. The difference relates to the desire to sell something versus the desire to inform.

Best of luck

By: Jodie Martinson

Jodie Martinson — Tue, 17 Feb 2009 02:43:17 +0000

Hi Erin,

Some really good points, my research uncovered those as well.

My “bone” of contention, however, is that while we may need to look at alternative models for the pound at some point (and as you point out, perhaps sooner than we would hope), to tie the library project and the pound in a competition that is to be decided by speediness is bad planning. Especially when we consider, as documents show, that the pound services somewhere on the order of 20 strays per day. Do we really need that scale of reinvestment? Or could we plan differently, allocate a smaller sum, build a smaller building, and address the dog licensing not at the expense of libraries.

Thanks for your comment.

By: Erin

Erin — Tue, 17 Feb 2009 01:13:07 +0000

I find your article quite interesting, as it seems to have completely missed the boat. If I am not mistaken, the Pound is part of a complete animal control project that is designed to be self-funding (as occurs in Calgary). This is achieved by increasing the percentage of animals that have licences (this rate is pathetic in Vancouver). The physical structure is part of the way the rest of the service is delivered. The library, although important to any community, is not self-funding. When you consider Capital Planning, the ongoing costs are an important consideration of the project. How much will a new library cost to fund each year? Oddly, your article is short on these details. If I’m not mistaken, research is part of that whole journalism thing.
Have you been to the pound in Vancouver? It is an abomination. The rats are not actually being housed there are purpose, they are “freebies”. It doesn’t have 24 coverage/staffing, so we may see animals burning to death as occurred elsewhere in Canada earlier this year.
But hey, maybe “this dog pound issue will fade away”

By: dawn

dawn — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 19:47:14 +0000

The financial situation that Britannia was left in by the city resulted in their essentially being strong armed into allowing their ice rink to be used as a practice venue during the 2010 Olympics. I wrote about that here: http://republic-news.org/archive/201-repub/201_paley.html

By: Jodie Martinson

Jodie Martinson — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 19:06:35 +0000

Thanks for the comment, Katie. The most important thing we can do is watch what happens with this dog pound. Perhaps, with the new Council, this dog pound issue will fade away. If it doesn’t we need to keep asking if a new dog pound is really the best allocation of the city’s funds.

By: Katie Hyslop

Katie Hyslop — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 17:45:08 +0000

Not spending money would grind the economy to a halt, Jesse. I wish I had read this before casting my vote, but like you said, Jodie, this info wasn’t actually included on the ballot. But what, if anything, can people do to fight this? Also, how crowded are Vancouver’s dog pounds right now, and are they filled with pampered pooches like you said, or is it mostly strays?

By: Jesse Kline

Jesse Kline — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 08:25:03 +0000

Has anyone in this city ever considered not spending money? Perhaps when we are in the midst of a world economic crisis we should question whether or not the city needs a dog pound or a library at this point in time.

By: Kate Allen

Kate Allen — Sun, 16 Nov 2008 01:41:49 +0000

Haha Josh I’m pretty sure dogs are categorically not people…

Jodie, thanks for this article. I live in Strathcona and I had no clue about this issue before reading your piece. Personally, I like libraries.

By: J-students showcase work on Vancouver elections | Newslab.ca

J-students showcase work on Vancouver elections | Newslab.ca — Sat, 15 Nov 2008 19:43:17 +0000

[...] is even a piece looking at how plans for a multi-million dog pound are buried in one of the items on the [...]