Recommendations are coming on how City of Powell River will address the problem of off-leash dogs in public parks, said Ray Boogaards, city director of parks, recreation and culture.
“We’ve got a lot of problems with unleashed dogs and a problem with people not cleaning up after their pets,” said Boogaards.
City of Powell River’s animal control bylaw stipulates that dogs are not allowed to be off-leash in public and that owners are to clean up after them.
Of particular concern are playing fields in the city, where dogs are digging holes and leaving other hazards on the fields.
“When the kids are playing soccer, they are stepping in [dog feces] or sliding in it,” said Boogaards.
All dogs, even leashed, are banned from Willingdon Beach and Mowat Bay parks from May to September. During the rest of the year they are permitted, but only on a leash. Signs are posted, but it is common to see dogs in the parks year-round.
Reports have also been made of larger dogs running at people and city staff, said Boogaards.
Townsite resident and dog owner Matt Hull lives across the road from Henderson Park, Powell River’s unofficial dog park, and he said he does not feel comfortable taking his dog or small children to the park.
Hull said one of the reasons he and his wife Ashley bought their house in 2007 was that it was so close to the park and great for their son, who was one year old at the time.
Not long after fences went up around the park, his then four-year-old daughter Sariah was “run over” by a large dog, said Hull.
“I was furious,” he said. Hull said he yelled at the dog owner to control his dog and was told it was a dog park. “They were completely ambivalent that their dog had just run over my daughter.”
According to Boogaards, his department did not consult neighbours before it went ahead with changing the park. The decision was made by Boogaards’ predecessor.
“That wasn’t an official decision,” said Boogaards. “The department at the time decided, without council’s blessing, to turn the existing park into a dog park.”
Some neighbours say the park has gone to the dogs, literally, and its playing field is no longer usable for children or adults to play soccer.
“It’s hard to spend time at the park when I know one of us is going to step in a big pile of dog poop,” said Hull.
Hull said he takes his dog for walks down to the river near the mill.
“Dogs don’t need to run on manicured grass,” he said. “It’s not that exciting for them. They don’t care about grass.”
A proper dog park is not just a fenced-off playing field. It has trees, trails, dirt and it’s not competing with children for space, he said.
“I have no problem with dog parks. I just don’t think they should be mixed with regular ones,” he added.
Boogaards said the city needs to strike a balance between providing safe and clean parks for residents and also providing space for dog owners. The Townsite dog park is a popular spot for dog owners and attracts users from other neighbourhoods.
“Dog parks provide a social component, not only for the dogs, but also for the owners,” he said.
Westview resident and dog owner Kelly Blaney uses the park regularly as a place to take his dog off the leash and let it run around and play.
“It’s a fenced area, so it’s perfect, as long as the owners clean up after the dogs; that’s the key,” said Blaney.
Boogaards and his staff are currently working on the expanded regional recreation initiative study recommendations. Facilities for dogs is just one of the many topics in the study, he said.
Boogaards said he wanted to wait for the report to be released publicly before commenting on possible changes the city could make to solve the issue.
Parks, recreation and culture is currently completing a dog park at the site of the old Max Cameron Senior Secondary school.
Boogaards said he was unable to comment on what the city’s plans are for Henderson Park after the Max Cameron dog park opens.
