GuelphToday received the following letter to the editor from reader Sandy Isaacs who hopes to find a pet and environmentally friendly alternative to road salt during the winter months.
All kinds of people own a pet or two – working adults, parents with young children, seniors. Most everyone loves their pets and does the best they can to keep them healthy and happy. That includes the walks each day, come rain or shine, cold and frost.
It’s those frosty days where we make the greatest effort to get them (and us) outside for those early morning and late evening walks. It is also the time of greatest risk for falls and injury.
I fall in the category of senior. I also have ‘thin bones’ so I totally appreciate the city’s efforts to keep sidewalks clear and free of ice. The problem is my little dog has a few times come whimpering home with salt caught between his pads. Over the long term, there can be significant injury. Many will agree, dog boots don’t work. They come off too quickly, so my solution has been to walk along boulevards hoping the adjacent homeowners are forgiving should they have planted beneath the snow. Luckily, I am reasonably agile and can manage this rougher terrain, but not everyone can.
I am hoping for a solution, a compromise, to protect both people and their more vulnerable friends from the hazards of salted walkways. I know there are pet friendly de-icers out there. Sand has also been a solution though results might not be as immediate. If you talk to an environmentally conscious individual or professional, they’ll also tell you the impact of too much salt flowing into our drainage systems and soils.
I don’t know the answer, I am just raising the question. Is there something the City could do? Pet safety is one thing, but so is the well-being of people. For seniors getting out and about in a safe way is important for our health. Having a four-legged friend to make that outing meaningful on these wintry days is part of how we do in fact keep healthy.
– Sandy Isaacs
