Fatima Halloum
Wyndham council has revealed plans to increase the number of dog off-leash parks in the municipality.
Feedback received through the annual community survey found a demand for additional off-leash areas, particularly in Tarneit, Point Cook, Williams Landing and Manor Lakes.
Wyndham council said it intends on delivering at least one formal fenced dog off-leash park in all urban suburbs and further increasing dog off-leash areas from 18-29 over a period of five years.
Wyndham Green resident Susan Schott said the dog parks currently accessible are not very good.
“The one I take my dog to needs maintenance for sure, it’s pretty dangerous for the dogs as well as us,” Ms Schott said.
“The grass is really long, it goes up to my knees.”
Ms Schott owns two dogs and said she’s conscious of where she lets them run out of fear of them getting hurt.
“Someone put a message on a Facebook group a few weeks ago, saying there was a snake sighted and people commented ‘this is why we don’t have dogs off the lead’.”
There are currently 21,030 registered dogs in Wyndham, with 16,702 households owning one or more dogs, and a total of 18 dog off leash spaces.
Ms Schott said the need to have more dog off leash areas comes down to small backyards and extremely active dogs.
“The new houses being built now, the yards aren’t very very big. So I think most people rely on the dog parks to take their dogs out. ”
Wyndham council said it recognises dog off-leash spaces have become increasingly popular and are a valued asset in providing for the mental and physical wellbeing of both dogs and their owners.
“It’s good to socialise dogs, it’s really important if we are able do that.,” Ms Schott said.
