Archived Letter - 1168

It seems more and more people in Fergus like to have their dogs off-leash in their yards. Having loose dogs in town creates a lot of challenges for people in the community and safety issues for people and dogs.

We walk our leashed dogs in our neighbourhood and around town; however, we are finding there are more streets we have to avoid because of off-leash dogs, than streets we can freely walk down. On-leash and off-leash dog encounters rarely go smoothly and I don’t feel it’s fair to put the dogs or the humans in that situation.

Many people use our sidewalks – some people have stability issues, some face physical challenges, and some have a fear of dogs. Surprise visits from off-leash dogs can create numerous challenges and I think it’s important we are considerate of all members of our community. Our sidewalks should be a safe place for everyone to enjoy.

The on-leash dog law is in place for the good of our community so I will continue to abide by it and hope others will consider this before letting their dogs run loose. Fergus has a wonderful dog park where off-leash dogs are embraced.

Meghan Burke