Fianna Fail’s Anthony wants local ‘pooch pen’

FIANNA Fáil’s South Louth East Meath PRO Anthony Moore is calling for the creation of a dog park or “pooch pen” beside St. Dominic’s park in Drogheda.

He said “Statistically, Ireland is one of the countries with the highest levels of dog ownership in Europe, with half of Irish households owning dogs. We all know that dog owners love taking their dogs for a walk, but they’re wary of letting them off their leads, because of fear of being run over by a car or biting someone.”

“What we need to do is to create a dog park or a “pooch pen”, which are found in many parks in Dublin, like Marlay Park where I had our own dog running round delighted with himself. These are rectangular areas of around 150 square metres, enclosed by a hedge or a fence, divided into areas for big dogs and small dogs. The owners can let them off their leads there and the dogs have great fun running around and getting plenty of exercise. It’s also a good way for the owners to socialise with each other, so it’s a win-win for everyone.

‘Dog owners pay an annual licence and it’d be good for them if the Council did something like this or included it in the next development plan. There’s some scrubland adjacent to St. Dominic’s park which would be ideal for this purpose.’