Marlborough's first dedicated dog park ready to be unleashed in Renwick

Sunday, 16 June 2019

SPCA Marlborough manager Donna Sologar takes staffy-cross Beau for a stroll through the new dog park taking shape in Renwick.

Marlborough's first dedicated dog park is taking shape and more may be unleashed in the region if it's a success.

The rugby pitch-sized park, in Renwick, has its official opening set down for September 1, and a successful first few months could see more dog parks pop up around the region.

Park equipment will include tunnels, hurdles and a balance beam.

Marlborough District Council animal control subcommittee chairman Jamie Arbuckle said the council had already earmarked sites in Blenheim and Picton for dog parks.

In Blenheim, the land off George Conroy-Drive leading down to the Taylor River had been approved by the council for a pooch park.

Sologar and Beau are ready for the park's opening day on September 1.

Weave poles being installed at the Foxes Island park.

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The old Waitohi Recreational Reserve, in Picton, was still being investigated as a possible park.

Arbuckle said there were 10,000 dogs in Marlborough, and a lot of people had petitioned to make the Renwick park, an old landfill site at Foxes Island, a reality.

The park would have separate areas for large dogs and small dogs, and a combined area for both. It would have weave poles, tunnels, hurdles and a balance beam, plus water bowls and waste bins.

'There are a lot of people that will never use this facility, I accept that, but for a large proportion of dog owners this type of facility is something they would like to see their dog fees spent on,' he said.

Animates Blenheim assistant shop manager Tilly Carnie said it was too risky taking your dog off the lead along Blenheim's Taylor River because it could run away.

'You get over it, taking the dogs to same place all the time … I think the dog park is an amazing idea.'

SPCA centre manager Donna Sologar said the fully-fenced dog park would provide a safe space for dogs to run around.

'With the dog park, you don't have to worry about the dog taking off after something,' she said.

Carnie said the park would be a great place for owners to socialise their dogs.

'A lot of people can't take their pets out in public because they have issues with other dogs and so they never learn to socialise properly … so they just end up staying home.'

But it would also be a good place for like-minded people to hang out, she said.

'It's good for the community to socialise together too … getting to know each other's dogs and getting to know each other would be a good thing.'

Arbuckle said one of the main issues surrounding the park was trying to locate water, and an agreement had been done with the SPCA to use their water.

SPCA dogs would be able to use the park, too, he said.

Sologar said letting the park tap into their water would cause little disruption.

'It's just for drinking fountains and stuff like that, so it will have minimal impact on us,' she said.

The council would evaluate the Renwick dog park over the next six to 12 months to see if more parks were an option.

'We've already got a designated area in both Blenheim and Picton, so if people want to see the same facility there, I suggest they get down and use the Renwick one because the more usage this one gets, the more likely we are to see one open in Picton and Blenheim.'