Every day of the year, regardless of weather, tens of thousands of dog owners take to the streets and parks with their beloved pooches. They are out early in the morning, late at night and throughout the day and their presence on the streets lends eyes and ears to the community and increases personal security for all of us.
People living in cities keep dogs for a variety of reasons. For some, the dog is a friend, companion or pet, for others the eyes to allow a greater degree of mobility and for many a source of security for both self and home. Whatever the reason, each and every dog has to be exercised daily and this is where the problem starts.
In recent years, the dog population of Montreal has increased greatly but little or no effort has been made to provide municipal services to accommodate dogs in their urban surroundings. Dogs need to run to exercise and to stay healthy but hardly any of our parks have dog runs to accommodate this need. The results are well-known and entirely predictable. Dogs are exercised off the leash in parks and since not all dog owners clean up, the parks become fouled with fecal matter.
Dirty parks mean that families with small children are less likely to settle or stay in Montreal and that those that do stay have reduced enjoyment of the existing facilities. Starting the baseball or soccer season with a diamond or pitch spattered with dog droppings is nobody's idea of fun.
Unfortunately, successive municipal administrations have lacked the political will to address the problem head on. Every time that a dog run is proposed in a city park neighbouring residents become concerned that this will lead to noise and disruption - even though the same dogs that will use the run are already exercising in the park, albeit with less control. In fact, dog runs free up the rest of the park for the better enjoyment of non-dog owners while giving a reasonable level of service to those who do own dogs.
It is often overlooked that, in terms of participation, dog exercising is the single most popular year-round activity in almost every city park and that it is just as reasonable to set aside space for this activity as for any other. Neighbouring Westmount, with its tiny population and territory has nine dog runs which allows it to have an almost fecal-free environment for children's play and other park activities.
People should be able to walk to their nearest park in order to exercise their dogs off the leash and Montreal needs a dog run in almost every park. We do not need a few large dog runs which people will drive to but rather many small ones that allow dog owners to leave their cars at home and walk to get to their dog's daily exercise area. A large number of small dog runs will also keep down the number of dogs using each of the runs. Dogs are already using our parks for their exercise and it is to everybody's advantage to give them proper facilities so that the other parts of the parks can be kept clean and proper for people use.
Dog runs are low cost and easy maintenance
Dog runs are among the lowest costing of all city park installations. All that is required is a fence and a gate, a layer of pea gravel and one or two waste bins with closable lids. Usually, there is also a notice board since dog runs quickly turn into social gathering places for the dog owners as much as for the dogs.
Dog runs are mostly self-policing since they are used by the same people and dogs on a daily basis and all users share a common interest in proper clean up. In addition, once dog runs are in place there is a guaranteed, year-round place for people to drop off their bags of dog droppings.
Currently, dogs are not allowed off leash in any public area of the city other than dog runs. However, with dog runs in most parks it would then be both possible and acceptable to institute stricter enforcement of the existing regulations. The police do not like to enforce unreasonable regulations and, as long as dogs have few places to run freely and exercise they are unlikely to be enthusiastic enforcers. When there is a dog run in a park it immediately becomes reasonable and accepted practice for the police to issue tickets to those who let dogs loose elsewhere in the park since there is no longer any argument that "... the dog has to run somewhere."
Dog lobbying
If you would like to lobby for more dog runs and cleaner parks, or for a dog run in a particular location you might wish to call Mayor Tremblay at 514-872-3101 and share your views. Dog runs serve the interests not only of dog owners. They also serve the interests of soccer and baseball players, of children who play in the grass and of everyone else who wants clean and desirable parks. Giving up a small part of a park for a dog run does not so much reduce the park for the other users as increase the amenity value of the rest of the park for everyone else.
Making our parks cleaner and more attractive, while at the same time providing proper services for dog owners and their dogs would, I believe, benefit each and every one of us.
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Dog runs are low cost and easy maintenance
