Fur flies over Hutt dog park

A junior football promoter is predicting mayhem if a proposed dog park in Petone gets the green light.

The fenced-off park on McEwan Park is supported by a group representing small dog owners who regularly use the facility. Dogs will not be allowed to run free freely in the fenced park, with the council emphasising it will be for training and socialising canines.

Tony Morrison, who runs the Little Dribblers junior football programme, said Hutt City Council was ignoring existing users and catering to dog owners who already flouted the rules.

Morrison runs four sporting modules a year at McEwan Park for 60 to 100 youngsters. He said the park was popular with dog owners but claimed many had no control over their pets.

As well as poo on the ground, the dogs regularly interrupted games and caused problems. ‘‘I have a rule with Little Dribblers that there are no dogs but we get them knocking our kids over. They are just out of control. Why would the council want to assist something like that?’’

Complaining to owners made no difference, he said. ‘‘People just park and let their dogs out of the car. It runs around and pees and craps, and then they put their dog on a lead.’’

Morrison believed there were already enough areas for dogs in the city, without the council giving them use of a sportsground.

Existing users, including rugby league and table tennis, had not been consulted, he said.

Regulatory services manager Geoff Stuart rejected the claim that the council had not consulted park users. As well as the proposal being in local papers, it was on the council’s website and distributed in a flyer drop. Park users had also been contacted directly.

"I have a rule with Little Dribblers that there are no dogs but we get them knocking our kids over." Tony Morrison

‘‘A dog park will always be a balance between the enjoyment of dogs and their owners, and the rest of our community. We have listened to our community during the consultation and we are keen ...to get the best outcome.’’

Morrison has used Facebook to encourage football supporters to lobby the council. ‘‘My feeling is that this dog park idea comes from the group of small dog owners who are wanting a safe place for their wee morsels to play, without having to pay attention to them running off or being gobbled up by the larger dogs unleashed on the beach.’’

A council hearing on the proposed dog park heard from Tenths Trust representatives who were strongly opposed to the idea, citing an existing problem with dog faeces and Maori cultural sensitivities.