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We need more dog exercise areas

Staff ReporterNorth Coast Times

I AM a resident of Quinns Rocks and have lived in the area for 20 years.

I have been constantly disappointed at the council’s lack of dog facilities.

Despite discussions with Ian Goodenough, where he promised he was already on to it over two years ago, nothing has improved.

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Two kilometres of sand is nowhere near enough space to exercise the many dogs in the area.

The main issue is that there is not a single place where a large or excitable dog can be let off the lead to run in safety.

Not all dogs have been to obedience training, large dogs can be intimidating when running towards you, even if they are chasing a ball and not remotely interested in you, and this can lead to a report of a dog attack even if the dog does not know you are there.

A simple and cheap solution is to fence off an area in a single park in each suburb to allow large and excitable dogs to run freely without their owners worrying about them running away, getting into traffic or knocking over a small child.

RSPCA statistics show that one in two households keep a dog.

Of these, one in two have two dogs.

Even if only 50 per cent of dogs are registered, that would be approximately 19,624 registered dogs in Wanneroo.

Surely enough income is generated to start a rolling-out of one fenced park per school term for the next few years.

I have always had dogs and I always rescue adult dogs, some of whom have behavioural problems and have never been off-lead.

How sad it is to have nowhere to play.

I have started a Facebook page to see how much support there is for my cause. I have called it Safe Dog Parks in Wanneroo.

I would dearly love to get 10,000 likes or signatures from Wanneroo residents to try and shame the council into doing something to support dog owners and their pets.

Jayne Rea,

Quinns Rocks