Small dogs now have a place of their own in Moody Park.
New Westminster parks and recreation recently initiated a trial off-leash area for small dogs in Moody Park. The space is designed to provide a place where small dogs and their owners feel safe and enjoy the benefits of existing off-leash dog enclosures.
Jay Young, the city’s manager of recreation services, said city surveys have found that two areas of the city – Victoria Hill and uptown – have a lot of small dogs. Having created an off-leash area for small dogs in Queen’s Park two years ago, the city is now testing a similar concept in Moody Park.
Dog owners are encouraged to complete the survey online or pick up a hard copy at the parks and recreation administration office in Moody Park. The surveys are due by the end of August.
“At the conclusion of the survey, we will be able to make an informed decision about the future of the small dog area in Moody Park,” Young said. “We are asking people how do they feel about the size of it? How do they feel about being inside the existing dog park? Would they prefer for it to be outside the existing dog park? Can it be outside the park? Those are the questions we are asking. Nothing is set in stone. We don’t have an agenda. We want to serve these people and provide a safe place for them to bring their small dogs.”
Staff will take a recommendation to the parks and recreation committee in September. Last June, some dog owners presented a petition to the committee, calling for the creation of an off-leash area for small dogs in Moody Park.
Uptown residents Ken and Catherine McEwen were among the residents who spent a number of years lobbying the city to create an off-leash area in Moody Park. While they were thrilled when the city opened an off-leash area in the park in 2015, they always supported a designated area for small dogs like their pup, Indio.
“The majority of people are positive about it, other than a few improvements,” Catherine said about the area for small dogs. “It is very tiny and dirty, and the trees do need trimming underneath.”
The McEwens have always encouraged the city to provide a separate area for small dogs in Moody Park. While big dogs aren’t all mean, Catherine said they can be rough.
“Look what the two did to Indio by attacking him. He didn’t have any bite marks on him, no blood,” she said of a July 2016 attack. “They jumped him, twisted his body. Because they jumped him, they destroyed the discs in his back.”
A survey about the trial small dog off-leash area – as well a survey about a new location for a downtown off-leash area – can be found at www.newwestcity.ca/dogs.
