Pet ownership is a positive experience in our society. Many studies have shown the benefits of pet ownership to the mental and physical health of people of all ages. Taking a dog into a social situation provides a means for social interaction between people that otherwise may not have been possible — it's easy to start up conversation when a pet is present, and many friendships begin this way. For many elderly people, an outing with their dog may provide the only contact with other people in their day.
Leash-free dog parks have become commonplace in cities throughout North America. In fact, some of the leash-free parks in the GTA have served as world-wide models of success since the launch of the first pilot project in 1996. These leash-free areas are not only good for the dogs, they provide their owners with the opportunity to meet other dog lovers and share a happy and rewarding experience.
Further, leash-free areas provide real benefits to the community:
[Source: The American Kennel Club.]
For the longest time, Vaughan did not have its own off-leash dog park. If dog owners wanted to allow their dogs to exercise and socialize in a leash-free environment, they needed to drive to another city to do it. Fortunately, most other municipalities in the GTA already had leash-free parks and there was no shortage of places to go. However, it usually meant driving not insignificant distances to do so. In 2005, the Vaughan Dog Owners Group was founded in the hopes of being able to persuade the City that there was both value in, and support for, establishing our own parks.
In 2006 / 2007, the City proposed establishing a leash-free park in a Hydro corridor in West Woodbridge, near the intersection of Hwys 7 and 27. At the public meeting called to discuss the proposal, representatives of VDOG attended and spoke in favour of the idea, presenting a petition signed by 370 city residents supporting the idea. When the majority of residents in attendance indicated their disapproval of the location but not necessarily the idea, VDOG proposed opening a dialogue so that the idea could be pursued at a different location.
In response, the City created the Off-Leash Working Committee composed of two (later, three) Councillors, staff and several community members, including representatives of VDOG. Using the terms of reference provided by Council as a guide, the Committee set about identifying a list of sites and creating criteria against which each site would be evaluated. No site was deemed off limits in the initial stage and, as each site went through the evaluation process, a short list was created leading to a final report which was presented to Council.
Of the top three sites which were identified by the Committee, Council decided to approve a park at Concord Thornhill Regional Park, which opened on September 15, 2009. The original idea was that this park would be a 'pilot project' where, if it proved successful, would be replicated in each of the City's wards. Unfortunately, the timeline proposed (albeit, in 2008) indicates that it could be 2017 before we see these additional parks becoming operational.
So, that pretty much brings us up to today. Since two years has passed and the park is still operational, it is reasonable to presume that the City considers it a success. It is time for the City to move forward and make additional off-leash areas available to residents in other parts of the City -- now, not in six years.
In 2008, according to the City's Active Together Master Plan, the City of Vaughan had an inventory of 216 parks, covering 1 087.9 ha of parkland [p. 73], or 4.19 ha per 1 000 residents (based on a population of 259 359) [Ibid.]. Based on the 2008 numbers, then, the amount of parkland dedicated to dog owners represents 0.09% of all parkland in the City. Since the amount of parkland in Vaughan has certainly increased since 2008, that number is now even smaller.
The Off-Leash Working Committee is no longer active. It has been suggested that the City plans to consider allocating funding during the 2012 budget cycle for a new off-leash dog park to be located somewhere west of Highway 400. This information, while welcome, is only the beginning of the process. For the original dog park, funding was allocated in 2008 but the park didn't open until September 2009.
This is understandable insofar as designing and building a park takes time. However, we wonder if there isn't some other sort of compromise that can be reached with the City.
Recognizing that dog owners are taxpayers, too, is there not room in this City for compromise? For some out-of-the-box thinking? In the absence of the Off-Leash Working Committee, it is our hope that VDOG can gather enough support from dog owners to present some short-term, practical solutions to the problems facing dog owners.
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