Lappin’ it up in city
Palmerston North dogs have behaved so nicely in the central city their invitation to visit is likely to become a permanent feature.
More than six months into a year-long trial, the city council has been ‘‘underwhelmed’’ by complaints, with the vast amount of feedback from dog owners and dog lovers being positive.
Dog owner Paul Godbaz said being able to walk the central city with his little dog had enabled him to explore laneways they had previously been banned from ‘‘for no good reason’’.
‘‘We have encountered a lot of people, some of them less fortunate than others, and my dog talks to them all.’’
Sam and Rachel Alderdice, who run dog training business Balanced K9, frequently walk
their own and other people’s dogs around the city. Sam said there was a good mix of noises, people and
other animals around The Square that made it a useful place for training and walking dogs. ‘‘We love walking around The Square for good, real-life training opportunities and exposure for the dogs we teach,’’ he said. Although the pair always kept their dogs on leads in town, Rachel said she had seen some people letting their dogs off their leashes. She thought it was important everyone stuck to the
rules so dogs were allowed to stay.
City councillors at yesterday’s planning and strategy committee gave the go-ahead for staff to prepare changes to the Dog Control Bylaw to change the rules before the year-long trial was over.
Strategy and policy manager Julie Macdonald said the council had received less than half the number of complaints expected and at which officials could still have viewed the trial as a success.
There had been no bylaw infringements and most dog owners seemed to be acting responsibly.
In an online council poll, with more than 400 responses, 77 per cent thought the trial was going ‘‘great’’.
A face-to-face survey resulted in more than half of respondents thinking the trial was good, nearly a quarter were not even aware of it, and 94 per cent had not seen any worrying dog behaviour in the central business district.
Meeting chairman Cr Duncan Mccann said he was pleased with the results that had convinced ‘‘nervous’’ councillors the change was positive.
‘‘It’s safe to say it has been an underwhelming success,’’ said Cr Rachel Bowen.