Dear Editor:
My wife Claire, myself and my four-year-old border collie Cali are strongly in favour of the dog park at Peach Orchard Park.
As a past councillor and past mayor, I worked with my fellow councillors and past councillor Robert Hacking, now president of the Summerland Dog Owners Association.
Robert has written some excellent letters in support.
I also enjoyed John Arendt’s column in the last issue of the Summerland Review.
READ ALSO: LETTER: Summerland park receives plenty of use
READ ALSO: COLUMN: Observations from a dog park
As a council, we searched for a location. It was very difficult and we did not come up with a suitable location.
The current council has done an excellent job of finding a site that was large enough for all dogs including my border collie who has two speeds – asleep and very fast.
The site needed to be large enough to allow the dogs to have room to run and play, as well as to learn how to socialize with other dogs and people.
The other mandatory requirement was that the site had to be fully fenced to keep the dogs contained, safe and the other beach users safe.
There are some other positive aspects to the location as well. Dog owners can walk along the walkway with their leashed pet and either before or after a walk, let their dogs run free in the dog park.
There are also tremendous social benefits to the owners. We get to chat and know fellow dog owners fairly well as we meet frequently. This is no small thing. A lot of seniors, husbands and wives get an outing and meet others in a wonderful setting with at times bracing fresh air.
I’ve heard some complaints that dogs don’t care where they go. That may be, but the people sure do.
Nearby residents say the dogs make too much noise. They can, but by and large, I have been amazed at how little barking takes place.
Also, there have been concerns expressed that other Peach Orchard Park users are affected negatively.
Beach volleyballers don’t seem to mind and there is a lot of exuberance with their fun. Walkers continue to walk and there is no reason it should bother beach goers.
Anybody with any history in Summerland knows that this site can be very wet during high water. That is the main reason other facilities have not been sited where the dog park is now located.
Peter, Claire and Cali Waterman
Former mayor
Summerland