SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
The city is looking at possible locations for a new dog park after city council asked administration to move forward during Monday's municipal services committee meeting.
Indiana McNiven, an animal caretaker at Borealis Kennels, thinks a new designated area that would be safe for dogs like Cammy is a good idea for Yellowknife. - Sarah Ladik/NNSL photo
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The department of community services has been tasked with looking into the situation and plans to produce a report either later this year or early in 2014.
Director of community services Grant White told Yellowknifer there were many aspects to consider before moving forward, but that the department plans on seeking input from various groups in the city along the way.
"We'll be consulting with stakeholders and looking at all sorts of issues," he said.
Among those concerns are whether the park will be fenced off like the dog run behind the Yellowknife Curling Club, or another off-leash area like the Ski Club during the summer, Tin Can Hill and the Sand Pits. Land availability and tenure – how the city can use land that belongs to the territorial government or other entities – are also questions that need to be answered in the report, along with the possibility of re-purposing spaces already owned by the city.
According to Nalini Naidoo, director of communications and economic development for the city, the City of Calgary's practices were discussed at the committee meeting, particularly that of having a place in public parks where dogs are allowed as long as they remain under the control of their owners, but at at this point they are only possible suggestions.
Jo-Ann Cooper, owner of Borealis Kennels in Kam Lake, said she has noticed the increasing dog population in the city and, as such, would support the creation of a new designated park.
"The spot that is available (behind the curling club) is tiny, and you can only have so many dogs in there before you get an altercation," she said. "It would be great to have a bigger, safe, designated space."
Cooper stated that the city's three current off-leash areas, while better than nothing, are hardly ideal. The Sand Pits are open to vehicles, motorbikes and ATVs, Tin Can Hill is replete with broken glass and used by snowmobilers in the winter, and the Ski Club is too close to busy roads. Cooper and her dog-owning staff agree that none of the current options are entirely safe.
"We need a place that is specifically designated for dogs," she said. "All of us here at the kennel think that would be a great thing."
As to where the city might decide to place a new dog park, Cooper isn't concerned.
"Whether they pick Frame Lake South, Old Town, or out on the bypass where the free land is, people will go there with their dogs," she said.
