Fence in Our Winnipeg Dog Parks

Hi there, my name is Katelyn Sawatzky and I own and operate Pampered Pooches Social Club, a dog walking and pet services company in Winnipeg. I recently moved here from Toronto, though I grew up in Steinbach. When I worked in Toronto as a dog walker, I brought my dogs to off-leash dog parks every day that were completely fenced in. Toronto has 51 off-leash dog parks, and 27 of these are completely fenced in. http://www.toronto.ca/parks/facilities/dogs/approved.htm Vancouver has 35 dog parks. http://vancouver.ca/parks/info/dogparks/index.htm Winnipeg: There are 13 dog parks in Winnipeg, none of which are fenced in: http://www.winnipeg.ca/publicworks/parksandfields/Parks/FieldsForFido.asp Being an avid dog lover and owner, I am starting this petition on behalf of all the other dog walkers, and dog owners in Winnipeg. I believe that most if not all of the Winnipeg off-leash dog parks under the Fields for Fido initiative should be completely fenced in. I want to take a moment to highlight why I think this is a good idea. 1. Constructing fences around the off-leash dog parks in Winnipeg would be a great step in putting Winnipeg on the map as being a dog friendly city. 2. Fenced in dog parks are not only safer for the dogs in the park, its also safer for people around the facilities. Most of the dog parks in Winnipeg that have a designated off-leash area, are within a park, Kings Park, Kil-cona Park, Bourkevale Park, Charleswood Etc. Women with strollers, small children, people who are picnicking are sure to be enjoying the parks as well. Though you may have signs that say, “this is where the off-leash dog park begins and ends”, dogs can’t read. If an excited dog decides he wants to run across the park and into on-coming traffic, or run into a small child with a hot dog, there is no barrier to prevent this. Charleswood off-leash park had a fence constructed on the Grant Ave. side because a dog ran into traffic and was hit and killed by a car. On a serious note, there are dogs who are unpredictable and even an owner may think they have control of their dog, but there are breeds that have unpredictable tendencies. How horrifying would it be if an attack took place because there was not a proper fence? Dogs do sometimes have a mind of their own. No dog always listens to its owner 100% of the time. Especially if there are distractions like squirrels or a dog fight that breaks out. 3. As Dog Walkers and pet sitters, it is our livelihood to make sure our clients dogs are not only safe, but are sufficiently exercised. I myself would not feel comfortable taking a group of 5 dogs to an off-leash dog park that was not properly fenced in. There can be a way to make the funds available to construct a fence around the park. If you charge a mandatory fee for a commercial dog walking license, these fees can go towards maintaining our dog parks. When we license our pets in the city of Winnipeg, a portion of this can go towards maintaining our dog parks. If 160 million of our tax dollars can go toward the construction of the human rights museum, which can't even afford to open and operate, then I think the dog lovers of Winnipeg should have access to some monies to make sure our furry family members are safe.