Cat-loving candidates beware: this election is all about the dogs.

The “I own a dog and I vote,” campaign will launch on Saturday, run by the non-profit off-leash dog park advocacy group, Winnipeg Network of Dog Owners Group.

The idea: get only dog-friendly politicians elected to council.

The group will use the model started in the Vancouver 2008 election and will publicize all mayoral and council candidates’ positions on dog-related issues.

The crazy thing is it worked in Vancouver, explained Donna Henry, board member of WINDOG.

“In Vancouver, the only dog-friendly mayoral candidate, Gregor Robertson, was elected and all of the councillors who were dog-friendly were elected,” she said.

The group will not specifically endorse one candidate over the other. WINDOG will interview the candidate and will make public their stance on a series of issues that concern dog owners.

The most important issue for Henry: off-leash dog parks.

“They are important to every single person in the community, people think it is just about dogs and their owners having good recreational space,” she said. “But what it does, it separates off-leash dogs from the rest of the community.”

Her stance on the upcoming candidates will have to wait, but she votes councillors John Orlikow, Brian Mayes, Jeff Browaty and Grant Nordman the most pro-dog members of council.

In fact, she met with Nordman on Thursday to discuss the current plans to repurpose Voyageur Park into an off-leash dog park.

Initially city administrators balked at the idea, stating the park was too close to an elementary school, didn’t have enough parking and would remove the only recreational playground in the area.

Nordman spearheaded the plan and remains confident after the latest round of public consultations are complete, the dogs will get their day.

“It’s not a question of if the administration will support it, I will be able to garner the support if all the dog owners come forward,” he said. “That’s the thing with the administration, they do what we tell them to.”

A public consultation meeting will happen on May 21 at the Heritage Victoria Community Centre, where the public can view the plans for the St. Charles park.

Henry saw the park renderings and said they address the concerns raised by the administration.

“It’s beautiful and amazing, a really nice plan for a park,” she said. “It would be fenced in and there’s an area for parking ... it looks like they have done a good job of overcoming the original objections.”

For the dogs

A newly released report will be presented at Monday’s protection committee meeting, offering the public service guidelines for future and current off-leash dog parks. Here are some of the highlights:

With 11 off-leash areas, Winnipeg represents a “middle of the road” level of service for dog parks; Edmonton and Calgary have 49 and 150 areas,respectively.

Usage of these dog parks have increased as the city grows, and many sites are nearing capacity.

Since many were established in areas that could serve no other purpose, Charleswood, Brenda Leipsic, Stephen Juba, and Little Mountain Park are at risk for closure as new development moves in.

Neighbourhoods such as Windsor Park and areas north of Selkirk Avenue between the Red River and Salter Street are under-served.

Neighbourhoods such as Charleswood, Tuxedo, and River Heights may become under-served as their parks may cease to exist due to development pressure.

The largest park, Kilcona, is 48.78 hectares and represents 50% of the off-leash area of the city, but is at the extreme north east of the city and only serves 25% of the residents.

kristin.annable@sunmedia.ca

Twitter: @kristinannable