Sir, – With summer well upon us, the patience of the humble dog owner and his or her four-legged friend is yet again put to the test. This band of generally caring and friendly people, together with their dogs, have had to take to the streets and beaches to protest against, inter alia, a sweeping ban by Dún Laoghaire Rathdown County Council of dogs on beaches within the borough during a very large portion of the day.
As the owner of two dogs, I completely concur with those people who complain bitterly about some irresponsible pet owners who do not pick up after their dogs or who do not control them in circumstances where they are a nuisance to others using our public areas.
I would, however, point out this pales into insignificance when compared to the trail left by our human brethren who do not pick up after themselves, the irony being that a number of dog walkers end up picking up the litter left by many citizens, some of whom are the very people who complain about our dogs.
As usual, our council has chosen to put in place this ban without recourse to those of us who take great pleasure in exercising our dogs on beaches and in our local amenities.
Instead, the council has jubilantly installed a number of “dog-parks” within some of our bigger parks, under the illusion that this will solve the problem (if indeed there is a problem in the first place). Instead, it has had quite the opposite and inevitable effect, with dogs who have been confined to a very small area to “run free” having disagreements, barking noisily and generally creating chaos.
In other countries, dogs and their owners are given ample stretches of beaches and parks to themselves, leaving those who don’t wish to be greeted by a wet, wagging canine to enjoy their own section in peace.
It would appear that this solution is just too simple for the council to even consider.
What some of your readers may not understand is that to very many people the importance of the family dog is immeasurable. Leaving aside guide dogs (probably the most prominent and widely recognised of our canine assistants), dogs and pets in general are often the only companions to those who live alone, providing a constant, invaluable source of loyalty and comfort; not to mention the wonderful benefit they are to both adults and children who are disabled or have special needs. In addition, the physical exercise involved in walking the family dog is without question beneficial to the owner’s physical and mental wellbeing.
It is therefore only right and proper dogs are given the respect they so richly deserve.
Perhaps the powers that be should expend more time and energy dealing with the unruly and badly behaved bipeds in our society, paying particular attention to some of those humans sporting dog collars, who most certainly ought to be kept on a very short leash indeed. – Yours, etc,