'They have to be on a leash' Vernon Soc

‘They have to be on a leash’: Vernon Soccer Association presents petition to Council

Feb 25, 2019 | 8:19 PM

The controversial issue of allowing dogs off leash on Marshall Fields was once again heard before City Council.

This time, it was the Vernon Soccer Association’s chance to air their concerns.

Darrell Buckham, Director of Fields, presented a petition that was signed by 500 people opposed to allowing dogs off leash in the area.

He said he is not only concerned about dog feces or dogs interfering with games but liability if a someone such as a player or a child gets bit.

“Most dog owners are actually pretty responsible dog owners but it only takes one or two bad dogs to give the rest of us dog owners a bad name especially if there dog is capable of nipping or biting or just intimidating younger people,” said Buckham.

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Darrell Buckham is recommending a fence between soccer field 1 and 2 or looking for other areas for a dog park in the area . Says he is worried about liability and people getting bit pic.twitter.com/W5sHdjGjrS

— Tiffany Goodwein (@CityNewsTiffany) February 25, 2019

He suggested council look into installing a fence between soccer fields 1 and 2 or look at other plots of land for a possible off leash dog park.

“There are up to 500 U3- U6 kids, that’s these little wee kids playing on the fields every Saturday, with up to 100 young players being on the fields at any one time. These fields run parallel to the dog walk and there is no buffer or fence.”

“The cost of a fence would dwarf in comparison of someone getting bitten,” he said.

Coun. Scott Anderson pointed out that a previous petition in support of an off leash dog area in Marshall Fields also suggested implementing a fence to mitigate some of the issues.

Since the petition in support of allowing dogs off leash on Marshall Fields was brought forward to council as a delegation, council has since relaxed the by-law of allowing dogs off leash in certain areas of the park.

Buckham said that decision by Council is something he disagrees with.

“It should not be relaxed, it is ridiculous, it needs to be enforced.”

He said many park users seem to be confused as to what the relaxation of the by-law means since the suspension of fines was approved nearly two weeks ago.

“You may know what it is, we may think we know what it is, but the general public has a whole other version.”

Under the approved relaxed version of the bylaw, dogs are still prohibited from being on the playing fields and the disc golf area regardless of if they are on or off leash.