Like a dog without a bone, the Summerland Dog Owners Association is making another push to get a permanent dog park in their home town.

Summerland Dog Owners Association (SDOA) has created a survey they want residents to fill out so they can submit to the district. The deadline to fill out the survey was Jan. 31 but will likely be extended.

An estimated 58 per cent of Canadian households own at least one dog. Summerland has a population of more than 11,615 residents (2016 census) and with dog ownership dramatically increasing during the pandemic, that is thousands of dogs living in Summerland.

But Summerland doesn’t have any permanent year-round, fully fenced off leash dog parks, points out the dog owners association.

In comparison, Oliver, Lake Country, Osoyoos, Keremeos, Peachland, Penticton, West Kelowna, Vernon, and Kelowna all have designated dog parks that are available year round.

There is the dog beach at Peach Orchard park but that isn’t fully fenced. There is also another undesignated dog beach at SunOka Provincial Park.

The municipality of Summerland rejected a permanent dog park at the Dale Meadows Sports Complex, but did go ahead with a smaller temporary dog park there.

READ MORE: Summerland approves temporary dog park at Dale Meadows

Constructed in October 2021, the 0.18 acre temporary dog enclosure at Dale Meadows consists of six foot temporary fencing. The size of the dog park works well for smaller dogs.

During the last community consultation and survey on dog parks, three locations were selected by residents, say the SDOA in their survey.

Powell beach park is still top choice for a dog park although very controversial for Trout Creek residents. The second location is Living Memorial Park West Field #3 on Snow Ave with the Rodeo Grounds coming in third.

The proposed Snow Ave could be a 1.1 acre enclosed dog park at cost of $25,000, said the Summerland Dog Owners Association.

The SDOA will submit its survey results to the district for review. It’s not known when council will be discussing dog parks in the community.

To report a typo, email: editor@pentictonwesternnews.com.