Dog Walking in Ballymacool Town Park

Pique

Hi,

I saw in the Letterkeny Post dated the 1st May 2008 that there are new by-laws being drafted to cover the town parks.

Being a Letterkenny resident, and a responsible dog owner, one thing has always bugged me... Why can we not bring our dogs for a walk through the nicest part of the town (Bernard McGlinchey Town Park) and instead are reduced to bringing them on a footpath around the town?!

Bearing these two facts in mind, I decided that if we showed the 'powers that be' (Letterkenny Mayor Jean Crossan, Letterkenny Town Council and Donegal County Council) that there is public support for the use of the new Ballymacool Park by dog walkers, then maybe...just maybe, we might encourage them to facilitate us in the new by-laws.

If you agree with this train of thought, and would like to lend your support please follow the link below to an online petition.

Please sign it, and forward it on to as many people as you can who feel the same.

http://tinyurl.com/5t9yjh

Thanks,
PK.

muffler

Pique wrote: »

Hi,

I saw in the Letterkeny Post dated the 1st May 2008 that there are new by-laws being drafted to cover the town parks.

Being a Letterkenny resident, and a responsible dog owner, one thing has always bugged me... Why can we not bring our dogs for a walk through the nicest part of the town (Bernard McGlinchey Town Park) and instead are reduced to bringing them on a footpath around the town?!

Bearing these two facts in mind, I decided that if we showed the 'powers that be' (Letterkenny Mayor Jean Crossan, Letterkenny Town Council and Donegal County Council) that there is public support for the use of the new Ballymacool Park by dog walkers, then maybe...just maybe, we might encourage them to facilitate us in the new by-laws.

If you agree with this train of thought, and would like to lend your support please follow the link below to an online petition.

Please sign it, and forward it on to as many people as you can who feel the same.

http://tinyurl.com/5t9yjh

Thanks,
PK.

What 2 facts are you referring to?

Pique

The fact that (a) we can't currently bring our dogs for a walk through the Bernard McGlinchey Town Park, and (b) There are new by-laws being drafted to cover the new Ballymacool Town Park as well as existing areas.

muffler

I can understand your frustration but you have to bear in mind that most people will either take the dog to the park to do its "needs" or as is common the dog fouls on the grass but the owners dont bother lifting it.

The park is an amenity for young and old alike and certainly not a place for dogs to do what they do best. There are a lot of kids who use the park and play ball etc and I think the council are correct in that decision.

Just my thoughts on the issue and while I'm not a dog owner I dont have a problem with dogs but God save us there are a lot of dog owners out there who need a bit of education in relation to controlling their dogs.

Pique

That's the problem in a nutshell.

People think dogs = dog poo.

I'm talking about letting responsible owners bring their dog for a walk. Unfortunately, many dog owners don't give a damn what their dog does so long as it's not on their lawn.

There is also a talk of a park warden. if he can stop people drinking, he can keep an eye on the dog owners, and so can the rest of the general public.

Why can parks in England allow dogs, but not here ?

On another note, why can horses gallop along Rathmullan beach, leave piles of steaming manure and go home, but if a dog makes a mess and is left, then all dogs (and dog owners) are tarred with the 'irresponsible' brush ?