Duane Hicks
“Seven Oaks” has gone to the dogs—and their owners want to keep it that way.
Numerous residents spoke out Monday night against the notion of banning dogs from the area, saying it’s a good way for them and their pooches to socialize and get exercise, and that their community is responsible.
Local resident Steve Maki said he and his wife, Lori, go to Seven Oaks every day in the summer and, generally speaking, there’s no one but “dog people” there.
He noted dogs there don’t fight but play together.
He added the dog owners know each other, and each other’s dogs, and look forward to socializing.
Maki said everybody he sees out there brings dog bags to pick up after their canines. And while everybody forgets or runs out of bags once in a while, normally they can ask their fellow dog owners if they have one to spare.
He added a few dog owners don’t care, however, and because of them, the town should consider putting up signs reminding people to pick up after their dogs, along with dispensers for plastic poop bags.
“Don’t put them by the roadway, put them where the dogs are,” Maki stressed.
“If you have to go way over there to get a bag, half of the time you can’t remember where the damn thing is unless you step in it,” he joked.
Maki also said if anything, goose poop is a much bigger problem than dog feces at Seven Oaks.
Maki reiterated that Seven Oaks rarely is used except by dog owners. And when there are aboriginal events, wedding photos shoots, and the like taking place, the dog owners stay away.
He added it’s never been a high-traffic area—after all, the town moved the lookout tower and Hallett to the riverfront several years ago.
As well, Maki noted there’s nowhere else to take dogs, either at the Point Park or elsewhere in town.
For instance, wolves have been seen on the Eighth Street trails while places like the soccer fields are very busy for part of the year and are not near the water, which is important for dog breeds that swim.
Stan Hoard said Seven Oaks is a place for everybody to enjoy and prohibiting dogs there is not the answer.
“Enforcement is the answer,” he argued. “If one dog owner was charged with not picking up after their dog, word of mouth would get out.
“That would cure the problem. Enforcement.”
Hoard suggested enforcement could be done by having a bylaw enforcement officer go to Seven Oaks not in a town vehicle but a privately-owned car, and lay a charge.
“Laying that first charge is the key to it,” he stressed.
As it is, Hoard said the rules aren’t being enforced on the La Verendrye Parkway, either. He has walked his dog many times on the riverfront, always on-leash, and many days he has seen dogs with no leash.
The amount of dog waste he sees is not acceptable.
“The answer to our problems is a charge, not a warning. That’ll cure all our problems,” Hoard reiterated.
“Everybody should be able to enjoy Seven Oaks.”
Bob Armit said he has walked dogs to the Point for many years—and the dogs thoroughly enjoy it.
He noted the dogs help get the geese moving away from that area, noting his small dog chased away a flock of 117 geese one time.
Armit said he also has seen dog owners many times pick up broken glass from beer bottles that youth have discarded along Seven Oaks.
“We have our own little community up there,” he remarked. “Everybody knows everybody and if you don’t know them, you know the dog.
“And the dogs know the dogs . . . they greet each other, they know each other.
“I don’t know where else you can go but that is their park,” Armit stressed.
“I hope it stays that way.”
Dog owner Lori Germain Crowe said she’s learned that people who have dogs stay on one side of the Point while those who don’t stay on the other side of the tracks, where the beach is.
“Nobody that I’ve heard has complained in the past 25 years I’ve been here,” she noted, adding she’s also never heard of anyone being charged for not picking up after their dog.
Germain Crowe said most people go there between 4 and 7 p.m., so maybe law enforcement should go out there a few nights a week to check in.
“It’s worth a try this year and see how it goes,” she suggested.
Pam Williams, owner of “4 Your Pets” on Scott Street, said dog parks are great but they have to be big enough for dogs to play with toys and they must have a water feature.
Marilyn Erwin, meanwhile, said council must remember that in a dog park environment, dog owners get a different type of walking experience than they do at the Point.
She explained that walking a dog at the Point, an owner can let their dog off leash, and let the dogs play and chase geese and seagulls, while the owner gets some exercise themselves.
In a dog park, you want to be close to your dog and don’t to move around as much, she added.
Erwin also noted dog owners pay $24 a year for a dog licence, and it’s a shame residents get no benefit.
“We don’t complain but we like to be free to use what is there,” she concluded.
Terri Zeitlhofer said her dog loves running along the shoreline at Seven Oaks, and most of the people there are with their dogs.
She noted the users who are least likely to pick up after their dog are those who drive their vehicle and run their dog next to it.
“The ones who walk along have bags hanging out of their pockets or they have leash holders for their bags,” added Zeitlhofer.
She also echoed Armit, saying dog owners clean up broken glass, cigarette packages, dirty condoms, and all sorts of litter they find at Seven Oaks.
“I think we do our share to support our activity,” she reasoned.
Wendy Derendorf said she leashes her dog, walks him to the Point, unleashes him at Seven Oaks (where he runs and swims), and then she leashes him and they walk home again.
“My concern, if council opts to prohibit dogs because of dog owners who don’t clean up after their dogs at Seven Oaks, those same people walk along the waterfront.
“Are we going to prohibit dogs along the waterfront?” she asked.
“If we do that, where are those dogs going to start going? People aren’t going to be able to walk them.
“Are they going to start running free in their neighbourhoods?” Derendorf wondered.
“That’s not safe for the dogs, the kids, the traffic.”
The lone presenter to suggest establishing a new dog park was Carey Basaraba.
“Right now, with the town in litigation over that property, nobody can really make a decision as to who can do what,” noted Basaraba, adding he is “pro-dog park.”
He said he has done research on dog parks in Kingston and elsewhere, and determined they have to be big and have water features.
“There’s certain areas around town that would be perfect,” noted Basaraba, saying the property near the sewage treatment plant would be perfect.
“Let’s clean it up,” he stressed. “Let’s friggin’ put a group together for the dogs. Let’s make a dog park.
“If it’s $30,000 to build a dog park, let’s fundraise for it.
“We can’t bank on the town doing this,” he reasoned, noting residents can’t rely on the town pay for everything.
“We fundraise for everything. The Town of Fort Frances is known for its generosity,” Basaraba added.
“We generate more money to the hospital, to kids, to hockey—you name it.
“There’s enough dog owners in this town that we could build a nice dog park.”
Basaraba stressed it would be great if dog owners could keep using Seven Oaks but with the uncertain status of the property, it would be wiser to look at building one elsewhere in town.
Council also received written submissions from local residents Leanne Spry, Sherree Denby, Betty McLeod, and Dave Erwin.
Each of then either supported keeping Seven Oaks the way it is or suggested sites for dog parks, including the Shevlin wood yard and the green space at the corner of Williams Avenue and Nelson Street.
Council now will review the information it received at Monday night’s meeting.
