SUNDRE – The new off-leash dog park immediately adjacent and to the west of the municipal office is the only area within town limits for residents to let their pooches run free.
“Our new dog park is the only place that you can walk your dogs off leash,” said Sam Zhao, Sundre’s community peace officer.
All of the walking paths and nature trails within the town’s limits – including Snake Hill and the Red Deer River – are designated on-leash areas to help ensure fair, safe and respectful recreation among all of the different kinds of users; not all of whom have canine companions.
“There’s been issues with people walking their dogs off leash along river trails and along the berm. So to address that, we’ve actually ordered proper signage for those trails,” Zhao said on Oct. 11. “We’re just waiting for those to come in and then they’ll be installed.”
Responding to a question about what kinds of measures the municipality has available when addressing a resident’s concerns regarding an off-leash dog that for example startled or even knocked down a child or worse, the peace officer encourages people in such situations to call the town office at 403-638-3551.
“I would suggest if you see somebody walking with their dogs off leash or if somebody gets knocked over or somebody gets bit – or a dog that gets bit – just call the town office and ask to fill in a concern form and either the animal control officer or myself will follow up,” he said.
“But the thing with dog complaints is that they largely go under-reported,” he added. “And I don’t know if it’s because of the size of the community or if people just don’t think to call. But there is a lot more that goes on than is reported.”
Asked how often he finds himself dealing with such files, he said, “It’s not really predictable, but it is consistent that enough residents have brought up the concerns of people walking their dogs off leash in town.”
Residents who might be searching for a larger, more natural space than the new fenced-in lot to let their dogs run off-leash do have the option of venturing just beyond the town’s boundaries along one of the access points to the flood control dykes off of Highway 760, he said.
“One place that I would suggest people that if they did want to walk their dogs off leash, is the south end of the berm along the Bergen Highway,” he said, adding that’s situated on Mountain View County land.
“It’s wide open and it’s not really used,” he said.
In the event someone walking their dog crosses paths with somebody who’s just out for a stroll or riding their bike, they should easily enough be able to recall their dog. But with a mix of different users, there is always the possibility of people inadvertently startling one another, he said.
“Most of the time, it’s exactly that,” he said. “The issue with the trails is that people turn a corner and then you have a dog who’s off leash and then you got somebody coming up on a bike or people walking.”
Nobody deliberately intends to set up their dogs for failure, but sometimes instincts take over and animals react to external stimuli, he said.
“Even if your dog does well on a leash, it’s other people’s dogs that may come up to you and cause an issue,” he added.
But although the only place in town to lawfully walk dogs off leash is the new park next to the town office, Zhao said he’s not about to start writing up a ticket blitz for every single infraction that he either sees or is reported to him.
“It starts with proper signage,” he said. “I can’t expect people to walk their dogs on leash when there’s no signs in town that say no dogs off leash.”
Once those signs are installed, the focus will then move onto education, he said.
“But if people are repeat offenders or if their dog is an actual issue – like it’s a vicious dog, if it has attacked people or dogs in the past – then we might look at something else a little bit more elevated than just a chat,” he said.
“In the cases where a person or another animal gets attacked or severely injured, they will be charged,” he said, adding there’s no black-and-white template approach and that each offence must be considered based on its individual circumstances.
Since opening this fall, the new fenced-in, off-leash dog park has been busiest in the evenings after work once people are home and done supper, he said.
“People have definitely been using it,” he said.
In response to being asked if there have been any issues at the park, he re-iterated that many concerns involving animals tend to go largely unreported.
“I have heard – not formally – people not picking up after their pets, the occasional confrontation between owners,” he said.
“But again, if people don’t report it, we can’t do anything about it.”
