If your dog has been hiding from the law in West Vancouver, the time has come to confess.
The District of West Vancouver is offering an amnesty throughout June on its animal control bylaws.
Dog owners caught in violation of the bylaws won't be handed a fine this month. Instead they'll get a warning, a pamphlet detailing the district's bylaws, as well as a free leash and poop-and-scoop bags.
"It's a brief time to take a soft-hands approach to allow people to come forward," said Jeff McDonald, the District of West Vancouver's director of communications.
"The approach is designed to encourage people who have never licensed their pets or who have let their licences lapse take care of that and understand the importance of doing so."
Licensing fees and fines collected go towards the services and emergency care the district's bylaw officers offer when they come by lost and injured animals, including their Drive Home program, which delivers errant pooches back to the home in which they're registered.
The district estimates only 65 per cent of dogs are licensed.
The initiative comes in response to a series of complaints from citizens about unlicensed dogs, off -leash dogs, dogs in prohibited areas like swimming beaches and the Seawalk, and owners that fail to pick up after their dogs. All dogs residing in West Vancouver older than six months must be licensed.
While the district hopes the amnesty will up the level of compliance with canine bylaws, it won't be followed up by a crackdown by enforcement officers, McDonald said.
"It's an opportunity to educate. It's certainly not designed to set the stage for any kind of increased enforcement," he said.
The cost to license a neutered or spayed dog is $25 ($65 if "unaltered") compared to a $150 if caught unlicensed. Licensing can be done at municipal hall, over the phone at 604-925-7152 or online at westvancouver.ca.
