By Mikayla Van Loon
Residents in Kilsyth are calling on Yarra Ranges Council to provide a fully enclosed off-leash dog park with the current Elizabeth Bridge Reserve area only properly fenced on one side.
A petition started in May by Shelley Large has reached over 250 signatures but she’d like to see that number grow before submitting the document to the council.
With very few options, aside from the new Kimberley Reverse fenced off-leash dog park in Chirnside Park and the Eastfield dog park in Maroondah, resident Jan McGannon said in order to train dogs in a safe space, better areas need to be provided.
“People don’t use this space, they go to Eastfield Road in Maroondah because that’s considered best practice, it’s got two areas,” she said.
“It’s got a small area and a bigger area. Some of the people from here, I know from there because it’s where I go, so we all use Maroondah’s.”
Ms Large said prior to a dedicated off-leash area being created at Elizabeth Bridge Reserve, most residents would use the former school’s oval.
Still used in between club training and playing, Ms Large said the council offered up an extra space within the reserve for dogs to run freely.
“They said we’ll find you an alternate site for when sport is in progress and this is an area of least significance in Elizabeth Bridge Reserve,” she said.
“It’s not the council’s policy to fence. It’s up to the owners to have effective voice control of their dog.
“And I said, ‘no, forget it, you’re wasting your money, wasting your time. Don’t even bother. If you can’t put a fence up, don’t bother’. So the compromise was they would put a permanent fence along the Durham Road side.”
As a dog trainer of 13 years, without it being fully fenced with appropriate gates, Ms Large said it was impractical to assume dog owners could always have effective voice control of their pet.
For Ms McGannon, the Eastfield dog park still provides a safe area for her rescue dog to learn and socialise with others while training to be recalled.
“We got him at eight months and he’d been left on a balcony for all of that. So when we got him a door meant freedom and the way we trained him was down at Eastfield Road,” she said.
“If the council wants us to have effective voice control, where is their responsibility for providing safe environments?”
With the push for people to rescue dogs but to also live in higher density living, Ms McGannon said it was only fair the facilities be provided to cater to those requests.
“We ask people to live in medium and high density areas, so where do you run your dog? A dog needs to socialise, that’s how they can stop attacking each other in public.
“Where do you do that? You look for a safe place. If you don’t have a backyard, where is the safe place in the Yarra Ranges? In a world where we don’t all have backyards, the council should be accommodating that.”
To sign the petition, go to change.org/p/make-a-fully-fenced-off-lead-dog-park-at-elizabeth-bridge-reserve-kilsyth
Yarra Ranges Council was contacted for comment.
