How many dogs live in Surrey and how many are walked in off-leash dog parks?

Dec 16, 2008

Through the Freedom of Information Act I found out how many dog licenses were bought in 2007:

Whalley……………2,421 (14%)

Guildford………….1,783 (10%)

Fleetwood………..2,104 (12%)

Newton…………….3,987 (22%)

Cloverdale………..2,611 (15%)

South Surrey……4,694 (27%)

Total……17,600

But this is not a good reflection of the true number since many people do not license their dogs.

My recent course from Duquesne University is Animal Health and Behavior in a Shelter Environment taught by Dr. Wendy Blount. Part of the course involves estimating animal populations. We were given percentages and averages are from the US. I would think that Canada would be similar, so I thought I would use the US percentages and averages for the City of Surrey.

Total Population in Surrey 2006……….437,716 (from City of Surrey web site)

Number of households in Surrey…………131,145 (from 2006 Statistics Canada)

Percent dog owners 39% (US) ……………..51,147

Average 1.7 dogs (US) per household….. 86,950 (let’s just say 90,000)

Total Population in Surrey 2011……..505,341 (projection on City of Surrey web site)

Percent Increase from 2006 15%

15% increase in dogs…………………………….99,992 (let’s just say 100,000)

If you look at the demographics of the number of licenses sold in the different areas and use this percentage for the number of dogs in each area for 2011 (100,000) so we don’t need a calculator;

Whalley…………….14,000 (14%)

Guildford………….10,000 (10%)

Fleetwood………….2,000 (12%)

Newton……………22,000 (22%)

Cloverdale……….15,000 (15%)

South Surrey…..27,000 (27%)

Total……… 100,000

Now we can estimate how many dogs are using the off-leash dog parks in different areas of Surrey. Say 25% of dogs are walked in the off-leash dog parks and 50%* of these use city designated off-leash parks and 50% use non-designated areas. So here is a rough estimate of the number of dogs (many on a daily basis) that are using the off-leash dog parks;

Whalley…………1,750 (Tannery Road Park)

Guildford……….1,250 (Tynehead Park)

Fleetwood………1,500 (Freedom Park)

Newton…………..2,750 (Serpentine Park)

Cloverdale………1,875 (Clayton Park)

South Surrey…..3,375 (Blackie Spit & Dogwood Park)

Total…..12,500

* I would say that this is a very low estimate, and some areas would be higher than others.

The End

Ok, maybe there is a computer program that could have worked this out, but I have to use my math skills for something. Wouldn’t it be interesting to compare the number of people using off leash dog parks to the number of people using other recreational use areas. That will be another post for another day.

SURREY/WHITE ROCK DOG PARK SURVEY