BEFORE the clamour is raised to ban all dogs from the park and hang draw and quarter all dog owners, which will almost certainly follow the recent front page article, I would like to point out that it is not the dogs at fault but the owners.
I use the park on almost a daily basis with my dog (responsible dog owner!) and my observations are that a barrier around the play area would be of little use as the offenders are most usually those families who bring their children to the play area and also the family dog.
All too often the dogs have not been on a leash but running free around the facilities therefore fencing off being of no use.
I would like to add that I totally agree with the concern from families about the mess and dog owners must clear up. But I would urge there be no knee-jerk reaction and target the irresponsible owners not the dogs.
A second point is, why does there never seem to be the same fuss made of the vandals/drunks/hooligans who inhabit the park after dark and leave a trail of damage, litter and broken bottles all over the park, including the play area?
This would seem to me to merit the same, if not a higher priority, than the dog mess. I need hardly point out the serious accident waiting to happen should a child fall on a broken beer bottle. If this problem is not tackled there soon won?t be a park to visit at all! Together with the dog warden could we not also have a vandal warden?
Nick Stone
Tavistock
Our granddaughter plays regularly in the Meadows Play Area when she stays with us, and we too feel it is time to fence it off. The open vista of the park, especially during the summer when all the trees are so beautiful, will be spoilt slightly by a fence but it need not be 6 feet high, and surely this is a small price to pay to safeguard children?s health.
I feel that dog owners who let their dogs off in the main part of the park should be reminded at every opportunity that their dogs should be on a lead, and that the other side of the river is set aside for their dogs to run around in. If everyone does this, surely the owners will be so fed up with a constant barrage that they will either put their dogs on their lead or find somewhere else to exercise them?
Keith Bowles
12 St David?s Road
Tavistock