Editor:
We are about to lose a hidden gem within our wonderful little town.
The Quarry Lake off-leash dog park in Canmore has been one of our greatest assets for so many years.
Please forego the expenditure of time money, resources and the harassment of our town-folk through misguided efforts to fix what’s not broken.
The location of our dog park is a geographic marvel. The park is expansive, circular, naturally well defined, has access to water and is mostly open with forested areas in the centre.
Bears, elk deer occasionally come through (as they do everywhere), but this area is not a prime animal corridor.
When bears in particular come through, sections of the park are taped off and people are mostly respectful of these temporary and necessary parameters. It’s beautiful and it works.
The dog park and its users do not need fixing, fining, educating, or policing. We have been using the dog park for at least 20 years without major incident.
The dog park is a recreational Mecca.
It’s a happy place where dogs are free to run and people are free to exercise and socialize. It’s a place for meeting and greeting. We know the names of other peoples' dogs before we know the names of owners.
There’s room for professional dog walkers to pursue their business. There’s room for dog training courses. Yes the poop builds up over the winter, but by and large people pick up and in spring there’s a volunteer “clean up the park effort.”
Hundreds perhaps even thousands (if you count dogs) take joy in the simple healthy act of taking the dog to the park. The dog park is as important to its users as is Elevation Place, the hockey arena, the golf course, the library, artsPlace and the Nordic Centre are to their users.
These are tough times for Albertans. Please allow us the simple pleasure of walking a dog in a beautiful environment without harassment, fines and fences. It works. Stop trying to fix it.
The dog park is a cheap and effective ecological phenomenon. What’s the cost? Bags and bins.
It’s also effective in that people and dogs to take joy in using the space. If the space is constrained, fenced and policed (as is the plan), people and dogs will opt for the wilderness, resulting in more dog/wild life/people incidents and danger.
Banff National Park has over 6,641 square kilometres of territory allocated for the protection of wildlife. This is wonderful.
Surely we can allow for one square mile of unrestricted space (outside the park) where we can walk and exercise our domesticated wolves in peace.
We love our dog park. Please don't fix what's not broken.
D. Wilkins,
Canmore
