Desmond's Dad was published in the Herald !

Desmond's Dad had a letter to the editor published in yesterdays's Herald. Good job! A huge Woof & Snort for Desmond's Dad !

READER’S CORNER
Dog days at Seaview

Sat. Apr 10 - 4:53 AM
There is a very special place in the HRM for dogs and their owners, and that is Seaview Park. For those not familiar with it, Seaview is a fenced-in park in the HRM located on the site of the former Africville community, where most of the land is designated as off-leash for dogs. This site is used every day, year round, for dogs to run and play with each other, while providing a much-welcomed social outlet for their owners as well. On a nice day, it’s not uncommon to see 20 to 30 canines interacting and enjoying their freedom.

For the uninitiated, the idea of this many dogs running around off-leash might sound disastrous. New visitors to the park discover that these well-socialized dogs interact just fine without human help and on the odd occasion when tension occurs, it’s over as quickly as it begins and without injury.

Recently, complaints were expressed to the local councillor about Seaview concerning dog poop not being cleaned up and the park being generally untidy, leading to some calls for its closure. After some discussion, a committee of regular park users was formed to work with the city and initiate a process where we could preserve this place that we all love and which adds greatly to the profile of the HRM.

On March 27, about 25 people came out and did a clean-up of the park. While some dog poop was discovered, mainly on the edges of the park by the gates, we cleaned up a variety of garbage, ranging from cigarette butts to beer bottle caps to condom wrappers. We intend to do more clean-ups in the future and hopefully have a working relationship with the city to maintain the quality of the park.

We love Seaview and what it has created: a community of dogs and their owners who enjoy each other’s company. In a day and age when technology frequently isolates us from our neighbours, this is something truly special. Anyone who wants to be kept informed about Seaview Park and the activities of our committee can visit our website: http://seaviewpark.blogspot.com/.


Jeff White, Halifax