Barking up a storm for off-leash park in Scugog

PORT PERRY -- Emily Gassien is sniffing around the community to gauge if there's any interest in an official, off-leash dog park for Port Perry.

Currently, there are no Scugog-sanctioned dog parks in the township. However, unofficially, groups have been known to gather in neighbourhood parks and other green spaces to let their favourite pets stretch their four legs and frolic.

"There should be one," said Ms. Gassien recently. "Port Perry is a big dog town and we need a place where our dogs can socialize. A walk just doesn't cut it.

We pay $20 for dog tags, but there's no place to run them."

In an effort to determine the community's interest in pushing forward with a formal request for an off-leash area, Ms. Gassien has spearheaded a campaign that has seen surveys dropped off at a number of venues across Port Perry.

At places such as Rick's Barber Shoppe, Curves Port Perry, Paulmac's Pet Foods Plus and the Uxbridge-Scugog Animal Shelter, proponents of the park plan are encouraged to endorse the idea.

One of the places bandied about as a possible dog park is Poplar Park, a small patch of green space with a children's playground located on Ash Street, just south of Immaculate Conception Catholic Church.

It's widely known that off-leash enthusiasts gather there from time to time and Ms. Gassien is hopeful it can be deemed a full-time dog park by Scugog's elected leaders.

"Really, only people with dogs go there and we want a spot where people don't really go to much," said Ms. Gassien. "Poplar Park is just sitting there and there's no one in there using it except (for dog enthusiasts)."

The popularity of Poplar Park amongst the dog community was brought into sharp focus earlier this year after a handful of dogs became sick after visiting the area. It was later determined that a young neighbour in the adjoining subdivision had discarded some sweet treats laced with marijuana in the park, which made the pets ill.

Ms. Gassien points out that at any given time there could be seven, eight or nine -- or as many as 15 dogs and their owners -- gathered in the park with no incidents at all.

"There's never a problem, never a fight," she said, adding the courteous canine community always cleans up after their companions.

While generally supportive of an exclusive spot for dog owners to run their animals, Ward 2 Councillor Bobbie Drew said it's likely a municipally-sanctioned off-leash area is just a doggie dream.

"If they can find a fenced-in area where dogs can run around for awhile, I think that would be great. I wish them the best in finding an area," said Coun. Drew, who represents residents in the area of Poplar Park.

But she pointed out that Poplar Park is "for everyone. It's got trails and a playground, it's for everyone."

Turning it into a off-leash dog zone will only serve to scare away those afraid of dogs, added the councillor.

But she wouldn't shut the door completely on the idea.

"We can always talk," she said of the potential for discussions with the Township. "If they can find an area, we can talk."

But when it comes to enforcing the municipality's bylaw about loose dogs, Scugog's bark is worse then its bite.

According to Wendy Benns, an official at the Uxbridge-Scugog Animal Shelter, the Township tends to issue a verbal warning rather than write a ticket when encountering dogs running freely.

"Usually if we see someone (running their dog loose), we'll stop and educate them and more than likely they're unaware" that there's no off-leash park in Scugog, she said.

Tickets for repeat offenders, or those with vicious dogs, are $150.

In neighbouring Uxbridge, councillors there agreed this summer to a pilot project that will see dog owners allowed to run their animals off-leash in Elgin Park between 6 and 8 a.m. The future of a dog park there is expected to be discussed after the trial period ends next May.

In Oshawa, dog enthusiasts can take their canine pals to Harmony Valley Park, a 10-acre spread of green space that has been Oshawa's official off-leash park for the past two years.