This is part two about the leading animal welfare programme Calgary Model. Ryan Pleckaitis is the chief bylaw officer at the City of Calgary, and he oversaw the Responsible Pet Ownership bylaw being comprehensively updated.

 

The Calgary Model is an inter-agency approach to keep animals safe from people and people safe from animals. In this episode, Ryan explains how bylaw services are evolving from a reactive to a proactive force for animal protection.

He outlines the education and public awareness campaigns to prevent incidents and direct communication with owners of certain breeds.

 

We also chat about breed-specific legislation, which Ryan says Calgarians continue to reject. Last but not least, Ryan explains new initiatives, including a ‘dog bite detective’ and an AI-assisted push notification system to find lost dogs.

 

Regarding the education-based dog licence outlined in The Dog Manifesto, Ryan suggests starting small and ensure the licence fee isn’t viewed as a tax. He appeals to the fact that all dog owners have an interest in dog welfare for all, so “it’s extremely important that we have that licensing system, because it funds all of our Animal Services, programmes and our operations.”

 

Listen to the entire episode on your favourite podcasting platform or download the episode here.