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LETTER: Dog owners should speak up on need for off-leash parks

One in three homes have a dog yet we are very silent. It’s time to speak up!
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One in three homes have a dog yet we are very silent. It’s time to speak up!

Dogs, like children, need to be exercised and need fresh air. That means they need to run, not kept in small pop-up parks where a big dog takes three strides and is at the end of the park.

Socialization for dogs is extremely important and should be introduced at a very young age. We should not have to get into our cars and drive 20 miles out of our way to find a place where they can be free. In the summertime, dogs need to cool off. I’ve been going to Cadboro Bay Beach my entire life and in the summertime I’m probably there three or four times a week and rarely do I see issues with dogs. There are a lot of regulars there and we kind of self-monitor ourselves.

There was an article in the Saanich News about Beckwith Park. That is another place that I frequently visit and in the last five years I would say I’ve seen one incident. I was looking after a dog for a while and that was our favourite park. Great for socializing dogs, they run free, they play, it’s great to see, and there are no incidents.

The fields are away from the playground and it’s safe for the dogs as the street is quite a distance from the field.

Victoria, Saanich, North Saanich, basically all Greater Victoria, please stop being such dog haters. One bad apple should not ruin it for the rest of us.

It’s already a proven fact what animals can do for one’s mental health, companionship, loneliness, recovery, and so on, never mind the dogs that save lives. Stop hating.

Denise Hall

Saanich