Even as a child, Jane Bowers had a way with animals. She had an “uncanny knack for finding strays and bringing them home to nurse back to health, sometimes secretly in her bedroom,” her obituary reads.
After university and working in Canada Customs and the RCMP in international drug enforcement and child protection, Bowers returned to her animal-loving roots and ended up on the Coast. Once here, Bowers built a legacy as an animal advocate, behavioural consultant for cats and dogs, animal rescuer and people educator. Bowers died late last year, but dogs will play in her memory in a park on Ebbtide Street.
District of Sechelt officially opened the Jane Bowers Dog Park Sunday afternoon. The one-acre park is the only fully enclosed off-leash dog park in the municipality (following Kinnikinnick field's closure to off-leash dogs). There's an area dedicated to small dogs as well as open play and shaded wooded areas. It has a double gate entrance and exit system, a water fountain, picnic tables and benches and is open dawn to dusk daily, except Wednesday mornings, 7 to 9:30 a.m., when it’s closed for maintenance.
Sechelt Mayor Darnelda Siegers spoke of Bowers (who was also a former District of Sechelt bylaw officer) and the community effort to have the park named in her honour in a press release. “Approximately 75 letters [to council] later, and we had a clear picture of a person whose history, advocacy and dedication to animals – namely dogs – is unparalleled.”
AnimalKind (BC SPCA’s animal welfare accreditation and referral program) posted a tribute to the late trainer earlier this year. “As a dog trainer, Jane made sure dog welfare was at the core of her work. She generously offered her knowledge to provide dogs and their guardians with the necessary tools to enhance their relationship,” read the tribute. “Jane was a life-long learner who worked hard to promote science-based humane training."
Bowers also fostered many puppies on the Coast, said the post. “Her dedication and knowledge were crucial to helping dogs find their forever homes. We especially remember a litter of eight playful pitbull pups who Jane fostered and trained until they were ready for adoption.”
Bowers’s obituary reads: “Jane was a very private and fiercely independent woman who kept up her many projects, responsibilities, and commitments while undergoing treatment after treatment for cancer. Despite all she was dealing with, she never faltered in showing her grace, kindness, and generosity toward the animals and people she cared so deeply about.”
