GIVE A DOG A HOME
JACINTA Fenton will have to wait a few years before she can fulfil her veterinary dreams, but volunteering as a puppy foster carer is the perfect practice.
The high school student and her 12 year-old sister, Zoe, have their
hands full with “energetic” siblings Charity and Chocolate.
It’s their third time taking on foster puppies and mum Sonia Fenton said the sisters were devoted to their four-legged friends.
“They feed them, get up with
them in the morning and do all the basic caring,” she said. “It’s a lot of work, a lot of cleaning but also very entertaining. “We all cry very, very hard when they leave but then you get new foster puppies, so it’s okay.”
She said it was a “rewarding
experience” knowing they could give them their best chance at a new life.
The pups were saved from a rural NSW pound by Pet’s Haven Animal Rescue, which looks after more than 3500 animals every year.
READING the article ‘Club Plan a Beach Grab’ should give all Gold Coast residents reason to pause (GCB, 17/2).
We all want a quick return to normalcy from COVID-19 and are keen to support any proposal which kick-starts our economy, but the proposal to take over our famous beaches for private benefit, should prick the conscience of the populous for any inherent negative consequences for the future.
The use of public beach space for commercial profit was first raised in 2013 by The Sheraton at Main Beach, but the proposal by The Star directors hit a snag in that the pub/tavern/club run by a private company on a public beach for private profit was unpalatable. Council consulted 1297 residents, with only 4 per cent in favour.
The current proposal for a Beach Club at Broadbeach to be open to the public and not exclusive, overcomes the previous hurdle.
This proposal, we are told, is supported by business leaders, Destination Gold Coast, the LNP state opposition leader, Gold Coast Tourism and the Mayor who wants a timely state government approval without “red tape” delays.
While no-one wants to inhibit progress in our city, however, residents should consider whether the effects on existing restaurants, bars and surf clubs in beach vicinities, the justification for public beaches to be used for personal benefit and whether the suggested model, 11am to 11pm, rental daybeds and dining booths, food and drink service, live music and entertainment for a minimum of 500 patrons on a three-year tenure, would affect their present lifestyle.
How do residents feel about paying to sit on a beach which they own?
What are the benefits for locals if their current, free daily access to their pristine beach assets is no longer available and what precedents will be set in motion for future generations if use of open, public space for private commercial profit is given the green light?