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In Vancouver, annual Jane’s Walk goes to the dogs

‘Urban Canine’ among city walks in honour of urban activist Jane Jacobs
Carla Pellegrini with her Mexican mutt, Lady Byng. Photo Dan Toulgoet
Carla Pellegrini with her Mexican mutt, Lady Byng. Photo Dan Toulgoet

Lady Byng likes walks, possibly more than most.

It’s a good thing since she’ll be helping lead one along with her two humans, Carla Pellegrini and Jake Winn, this weekend as part of the annual Jane’s Walk in Vancouver.

Lady Byng is a mutt, originally from central Mexico.

Pellegrini and Winn have shared their home with their dog for just over a year after adopting her from a small rescue organization called Mex-Can Pet Partners based in Victoria.

“She loves walks, and she loves playing with other dogs even more than she likes walks,” Pellegrini said. “And she loves going into stores that are dog friendly and give her treats.”

Named after the NHL trophy for sportsmanship, Lady Byng is active — she was recently screened as a therapy dog and does volunteer work visiting residents at Central City Lodge.

She also goes with Pellegrini to her co-working space every day rather than sit at home.

The couple recently heard of Jane’s Walk and decided it could be a great experience.

“We thought it would be fun to meet other dog owners in the city who like to include their dog in their lives as much as possible,” Pellegrini said.

“We personally have a list of all the stores and breweries and dog parks that we’ve found over the last four years of living here that are really great to bring dogs to. We thought we’d be able to share that with other people and also learn from their tips as well.”

Jane’s Walk is named after urban activist Jane Jacobs who wrote the 1961 book The Death and Life of Great American Cities. The citizen-led walks, organized in urban areas around the world on the first weekend in May, “encourage people to share stories about their neighbourhoods, discover unseen aspects of their communities, and use walking as a way to connect with their neighbours.”

Numerous walks are planned in Vancouver, including a Jericho Lands site walk to get people familiar with the 90-acre property that’s poised to be developed; “Mow it or grow it” about homeowners who grow annuals, perennials and food on their property rather than grass; “Trust Me, they’re Cool! (An Exploration of Underutilized Parkades)”; “West End Walkabout in Song and Verse”; and the one Pellegrini, Winn and Lady Byng are staging on May 4 called “Urban Canine.”

It starts at Charleson Dog Park near the waterfall, wanders its way through Mount Pleasant and ends up at Main Street Brewery.

Pellegrini said one of the best parts of walking your dog is it’s a conversation starter and forces you to interact with other people.

“Without a dog, you might just keep your head down and not really interact with your neighbours or your community members,” she said.

She said the quantity and variety of parks are among attributes that make for a dog-friendly city.

“Around here, in Vancouver, there’s lots of closed-in ones, which are good for dogs that maybe aren’t as good off the leash. But there are also a lot of big open spaces, and beaches, and parks with water, so the diversity of places where you can bring your dog is great. I’ve found people, in general, are really friendly with dogs, and [so are] store owners… work places are really great to bring a dog. I bring her every day. It saves us a lot of money and it’s also really nice — therapeutic for all my colleagues.”

But there’s one policy change Pellegrini thinks would make the city even better — being able to bring dogs like hers on transit.

TransLink's pets’ policy allows small dogs, cats, rabbits and small fur-bearing or feathered animals on transit, but they must be contained in small, hand-held cages. Larger dogs are allowed only if they are assistant animals, although they need to wear a harness and be leashed.

“I’m very fortunate to be able to live in walking distance of my workplace, and a lot of what I do in the city, but when I do need to take her somewhere, not owning a car is a challenge and definitely limits what we can do together. Being able to take your dog on transit would be a huge boost in helping make Vancouver more dog friendly,” Pellegrini said.

Those who plan to join the Urban Canine walk should bring water for their dogs and make sure they’re friendly and happy to walk with other dogs.  Registration isn’t required. It runs from 11 to noon on May 4.

Additional information about the route and meeting place can be found HERE.

Details about all the other Jane’s walks planned for Vancouver can be found HERE.

noconnor@vancourier.com

@naoibh