Mt. A. economics prof and dog owner Carla VanBeselaere
An economics professor at Mount Allison University is calling on the Town of Tantramar to consider building an off-leash, fenced-in dog park.
“It would be a place to go to congregate,” Carla VanBeselaere told town council last week.
“It would provide opportunities for community members to connect with each other,” she said in a town where, judging by posts on social media, “disconnection seems to be paramount.”
VanBeselaere added that such a park would help owners socialize their dogs while their pets burn off energy.
“At least an acre of land is usually considered appropriate for this kind of facility,” she told council, adding that it would need five-foot fencing.
“Lots of people suggested that there are spaces you can take your dogs. None of them are fenced unfortunately and that prohibits people whose dogs have a tendency to wander from participating.”
She projected a slide showing more of the things a dog park would need:
VanBeselaere said she does not have a location in mind suggesting that would be up to the town as it weighs costs and benefits.
She noted that she and her miniature poodle Barkus visit the fenced-in dog park in Amherst usually every week.
A photo of Barkus appears over an online petition she is circulating that has so far gathered 140 signatures and she said an additional 98 people signed a paper copy at the Sackville Farmers Market.
“I asked people who were in person to indicate whether they were willing to contribute time and effort into the initiative as well and I got 24 who said that they’d be willing to volunteer.”
VanBeselaere added that she was confident there would be financial support from people as well.
“So, I’m looking at you and telling you that it might be a question of money, but we can probably find it.”
After her five-minute presentation, Councillors Debbie Wiggins-Colwell, Josh Goguen and Michael Tower expressed their tentative support while Councillor Allison Butcher said there has always been interest in having a dog park here and she suggested it would be worth taking an in-depth look into it.
In July 2020, Sackville Town Council voted against building one in Beech Hill Park that would have cost $80,000.
To read coverage, click here.
When the previous proposal for the Beech Hill Dog Park was being considered, we approached the town of Amherst to determine what their actual cost was for their fenced dog park.
From Shawn Canton, who was with the Amherst Water & Sewer Billing Department, we received the fully itemized billing record for all expenses paid out for their dog park.
Here is a summary of those expenses …
– initial site preparation – $12,608.18
(removing existing playground equipment and relocating to another site)
– Dog Park fencing – $19,032.20
– dog waste dispensers – $3,441.98
– landscaping Dog Park – $2,815.72
– hemlock chips for Dog Park – $516.22
– t-post lights for Dog Park – $287.59
– miscellaneous hardware items for construction – $95.95
– feeder pans for Dog Park – $52.65
Total expenses – $38,830.13
When you deduct the cost of removing and relocating the playground equipment ($12,608.18), that leaves a grand total of $26,221.95 spent on the Amherst Dog Park.
Compare that with the $80,000 quote for the previously proposed dog park at Beech Hill Park, (which didn’t include any lighting), and we have to wonder why that quote was so unrealistically high.
Several years ago there was an emailed offer to all members of Town Council, to donate a parcel of land in the Industrial Park for a Sackville Dog Park, but disappointingly there was no recognition or followup by the Town.
With all the wonderful trails and parks and forests and abundance of free space to go for lovely and fabulous walks here to freely enjoy our blessed town and all it has to offer – the very last place I would take my old dogs is a locked in fenced “dog park”… its totally wasteful and unnecessary.. but if you’re stuck in a City concrete jungle I could understand the request .. I just have no need of such a place.. I am much more interested in a skatepark project, as the readers here are well aware.. that was ignored by the town staff for over a decade and counting.. why? Councillor Bruce Phinney has asked me to make a presentation next month about this project in October’s Town Council meeting so any other readers who also want a skatepark project for the youth are welcome to join and speak up then too. Thanks Bruce for reporting.
Dog parks may seem great to people, but they are also a HUGE liability to the dogs that go there. Most dog trainers that I follow suggest not taking your dog to dog parks due to the risks of going there, from health/diseases to dog fighting/aggressions. Unless you know personally every dog in the park at the time you go with your dog, and the dogs are all acclimated to one another, you cannot guarantee a fight free zone.
Then there are people who wouldn’t obey the rules of dog parks, who think dogs of all sizes can go into one space and be fine. People who don’t realize “Little Dog Syndrome” is a real thing and small dogs can be easily hurt/killed by bigger dogs even if they’re just playing.
And then there are people who haven’t trained their dogs to good enough recall that if something does start, they can protect their dog by calling them back to be put onto lead.
Expenses aside, Sackville has enough green space for people to walk and be with their dogs. Do I wish there was a space to let my dog(s) off lead without worry? Sure, but I also won’t risk them in said closed in area either.
The money would be better spent elsewhere. Maybe beside each of the garbage placements in town, have a small dog bag station for people to grab baggies if they forget theirs at home.