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To: Jacob Young, Conservative MP for Redcar
Locke Park, Redcar, Dogs on leads. Off lead excersize area.
Hi, recently an all dogs on leads rule, has been applied on a number of Parks in the borough, including Locke Park in Redcar, whilst we accept that some of the complaints that led to this are or may be valid, it has only considered the needs of the people who raised the issue, what about the responsible dog lovers of our community and their dogs who are now being penalised because of a few ("Bad apples") irresponsible owners.
Why is this important?
Recent statistics show that at least 25% of Households in Redcar are dog owners, and at least 13% of these own 2 or more dogs, we own three. It is a fact that Part of training a dog to be well mannered and responsive to their owner, is acknowledging their need to be able to run and play freely, and it is common knowledge amongst most responsible dog owners that dog reactivity is worse when, they are on lead, so to keep any dog on a lead constantly will lead to the area having more badly behaved dogs. I work in Locke Park, and I am visited by dogs and their owners every day, and I can categorically state that the vast majority of owners are responsible, and their dogs have been well trained with the basics, and their behaviour is good. you may say that there are plenty of other areas available to allow dogs to run and exercise, and there are, The Marshes, Areas of the Beach, The Wreck, Kirkleatham, but unfortunately not every dog owner is able to use these areas. I have to repeat this Dogs need to be able to run and play freely, so why can’t Redcar and Cleveland parks have a Designated off lead area for Dogs, the same as many other council areas have done in their parks, I believe this is a reasonable compromise for everyone.
