The Sunshine Coast now has a four-acre off-leash dog area at Shirley Macey Park, just north of the sports fields.
Sunshine Coast Regional District (SCRD) Area F director Ian Winn performed the leash cutting ceremony on June 25 at the park’s grand opening BarkFest Party, put on by the SCRD and BowWow Coast, a Facebook group for dog lovers.
“I love it, it’s a great opportunity for the dogs of our area to be able to run around and enjoy this wonderful grass and the trails and everything,” Winn said. “I hope it is well used and I really look forward to the fact that the sports fields will have fewer dogs on them and that we’re going to be able to separate the dogs and the soccer player conflict.
“My only concern now is they did such a great job here on the grassy fields that we’re going to have trouble keeping the soccer players off,” Winn said.
Yo Ricketts – one of the founding members of BowWow Coast – said the dog park is an amazing addition to the community.
“It gives us our own place – a kind of sanctuary. It’s actually better than the [sports field] because we’ve got benches and water,” Ricketts said. “It’s our own little zone; we don’t have to worry about soccer players or Frisbee players or little kids on the playground. It’s our place.”
The off-leash area is a total of four acres including trails, with a two and a half acre grassy field area for dogs and owners to socialize. There is access to water, bathrooms, shade, benches and tables. The SCRD invested $15,000 into the park, not including additional costs for maintenance.
Maria Masters, a dog owner and veterinary assistant at the Landing Vet Clinic, was enthusiastic about the new dog park, but shared some concerns about letting aggressive dogs run off-leash.
“I think it’s really neat, it’s something for specific people to come here and enjoy,” Masters said. “At the same time, working at the vet clinic, there are attacks from off-leash animals.”
There is one way of dealing with aggressive dogs on the Coast, Winn explained.
“People with aggressive dogs are asked to put a yellow ribbon on their leash or on their collar so others can see it is an aggressive dog and we’ll be able to keep a separation,” Winn said. “That will have to police itself between dog owners, but if the people with the aggressive dogs can at least identify them, then that will help.”
The dog park is located at 930 Chamberlin Road north of Shirley Macey sports field. See BowWow Coast on Facebook for updates.
For more photos from BarkFest, see our online gallery at www.coastreporter.net
