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Summer dog-bylaws in effect in Saanich

If you plan to walk your dog this summer, avoid Cordova Bay Beach, Gyro Park, Whitehead Park, Mount Douglas Park beach, Swan Lake Park and Quick’s Bottom Park.

And if you plan to walk your dog off leash this summer, avoid Cedar Hill golf course and Rithet’s Bog.

The rest of Saanich’s 160 parks are fair game for you to take your four-legged friend this summer.

Saanich pound officers will be out monitoring these locations handing out $100 fines to anyone caught breaching the bylaw.

“We are targeting the prohibited areas this year,” pound officer Susan Ryan said. “It’s a dog owner’s requirement to know where they can and cannot be.”

The bylaws are in place for health and safety reasons, as well as environmental reasons.

“It’s because these places see higher use in the summer months. There are more children who will come and play on the sand, and we don’t want them playing where dogs defecate and urinate,” she said.

Summer dog restrictions run from May through the end of August.

Dogs are also prohibited from fenced baseball fields until Sept. 30, and leash laws apply on all public school grounds.

For more information on dog restrictions, visit www.saanich.ca/living/dogs or call 250-475-5522.

kslavin@saanichnews.com