(Nigel Maxwell/ paNOW Staff)

By Nigel Maxwell

City park space

Negligent dog owners leave park users steaming

Mar 18, 2019 | 5:00 PM

As the snow rapidly melts at Little Red River Park, an unsightly mess has some park users turning up their noses.

The dog feces that have not been picked up over the past few months, and covered up by snow, now appear to be marking the trails at every turn. Mike Horn, President of the Prince Albert Ski Club, told paNOW the problem has been escalating over the years.

“A lot of people are under the impression it’s an off leash park, which it is not. The park has to be treated like any other park in the city and you do have to pick up after your dog,” he said.

Horn, who also enjoys cruising the trails in the summer on his mountain bike, added he gets quite frustrated when he has to drive through piles of dog excrement. Last year the City of Prince Albert installed several dog waste bag stands at the park for users to access, but Horn said more needs to be done.

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“They’ve put those up I think in three different spots in the entirety of the park and so those are not going to fix the problem,” he said.

Several signs are posted at Little Red River Park, reminding pet owners to be responsible. (Nigel Maxwell/ paNOW Staff)

Tim Yeaman, the City’s Parks Manager, confirmed for paNOW he had received a few calls already about this issue of negligent dog owners. He encouraged dog owners to use the bags provided at the park.

“There is an expectation that as a pet owner, it is part of the responsibility of the pet owner to pick up after your pet,” he said.

Yeaman suggested the city may be putting up additional dog bag stands in the future. According to signs posted at the park, the fine for not picking up after your pet can cost as much as $500 based on the number of offences. The City’s bylaw manager, Suzanne Stubbs, told paNOW bylaw officers will attend to a complaint at Little Red, but added it is a challenge issuing tickets.

“If we can’t catch them, it’s really hard to give them a ticket right?,” she said.

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nigel.maxwell@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @nigelmaxwell