Dozens of dogs run free in Monteal’s bustling Jeanne-Mance park off leash every morning and night.
A permanent and open space dog run for residents and their furry friends has been established for years next to the mountain, but many people are unaware of its existence.
“My dog is the friendliest thing in the world. A poor woman was walking by and she didn’t know it was a dog park. My dog went to say hello and she almost had a heart attack,” Johnny Rodriguez said.
The greenspace between Parc Avenue and the tennis courts is reserved for dogs from 6 a.m. to 8:30 a.m. and again between 9:30 p.m. and midnight.
Only one sign alters park users of the designated canine hours. During those hours, dogs are allowed to frolic off leash in the open space.
“Sometimes the police come around saying they got complaints that our dog passed a certain line. How the hell are you going to hold a dog behind the line? The dog believes he is free. It’s running — if he sees something he is going to chase it,” Rodriguez said. “If there was a barrier he would be able to be stopped.”
As one of the city’s biggest and busiest parks, the dog run shoulders Parc Avenue traffic on one side and a heavily used bike path on the other.
The majority of dog owners say they have serious concerns letting their pups run free in the busy area.
“We trust our dogs but were never 100 per cent confident,” Valerie Cusson said. “My own dog, who is almost four years old, could easily cross the street seeing a squirrel.”
Dog owner Ludmilla Loucheur still frequents the park with her 12-year-old pup but does not let her pet off the leash.
“My dog has crossed the street before nearly being hit three times already,” Loucheur said.
Plateau-Mont-Royal borough councillor Alex Norris called the situation untenable. He says the safety surrounding the dog park has been an issue for several years.
Despite multiple attempts to rectify the situation, the greenspace remains one of the only unfenced dog parks in the city, according to Norris.
“There are all sorts of variety of sports, everyone has to put water in their wine and accept there will be a compromise but we are determined to solve this problem that has gone on all too long,” Norris said.
The difficulty, Norris said, is the park is a historical site and any changes to the space need to be approved since it is protected by provincial laws.
A permanent fenced-in dog park has been approved and announced by the borough as part of a major redevelopment project of Jeanne-Mance park.
The revitalization of the park is expected to be spread over the next 10 years, but Norris did not specify when the revamped dog park would be established.
The borough has stepped in to address the problem before. After protest from pet owners and complaints from cross country skiers last winter, the dog park was moved to the nearby baseball diamond.
In the meantime, Norris said a temporary dog park with a fence will be installed in another section of the park near the volleyball courts. The location is said to be close to the site where the borough plans to build the future permanent dog run.
A timeframe on when the work would begin could not be given.
“The analysis has been done. We now have a site that has been identified and so I’m optimistic that there will be a solution to this problem soon,” Norris said.
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