The proverbial dog doo has hit the fan in a northwest community, with dog owners pitted against nearby residents over a fenced dog park.
A coalition of dog owners and park users said their fight is not over, even though the Cambrian Heights Community Association on Monday voted 66 per cent in favour of tearing down a fence around the now-designated off-leash park near Queen’s Park Cemetery.
Blair Cosgrove is one of a dozen who is leading a charge to change the mind of the city’s parks department, which says it is going to tear the fence down by the time the park reopens June 22.
“The community association is trying to ensure dogs will be killed instead of protected, which we find appalling,” Cosgrove said.
The park was temporarily shut down to allow the grass to grow again, as its popularity was leading to overuse, according to parks spokesperson Dennis Urquhart.
“We are following the community’s wishes and their wishes were that we take a portion of the fence down because the community had some concerns,” he said.
Cambrian association president Caroline Bartel said the park was popular because it was fenced, but it caused headaches for community residents who dealt with increased traffic and parking, more litter, and more dog feces left behind.
“But the issue is now with the city. As far as we are concerned, it was dealt with. We just hope the community can move on now,” Bartel said.
But dog owner and community resident Jessica De La Fuentes said she wants the fencing to stay up to protect animals from cars on the street, and she is willing to keep fighting.
“This is really important to us,” she said.
