Outdoor Ontario
Request for Information => Birding Areas => Topic started by: angieinto on March 07, 2011, 11:46:31 AM
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I'm wondering if anyone would know who to contact about making an area an "eviromentally sensitive area"?
I've really had it with the number of off leash dogs at Lampton Woods. I don't know if it's possible to make it "no dogs allowed", but I am looking in to getting better signs and whatever else I can do to help with the problem, I'm sick of it.
If anyone else would like to call and complain the number is 416-338-7297.
Maybe if more people call they will send out an enforcement officer on a regular basis.
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You can also contact your local MP, not sure who that would be in that area. If you need to sign a petition let me know I would be more then pleased to sign it! I was knocked down by a dog last winter at Lambton Woods, I did call the 1-800-paws number, they were kind and said they would look into it....never heard since.
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Same problem in Claireville, with large, unleashed aggressive dogs and people complain or are scared of coyotes.
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I phoned the number today too. There are only 2 enforcement officers for all of Etobicoke!! Going to call the parks dept next, about signs.
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Some dog owners/walkers seem to think that urban parks and trails are there just for them. Posted signs about having their animals on a leash go unread. I too often see small plastic baggies tied to tree branches, attached to fences or tossed to the side of a trail, not to mention the many dog poops that are on every trail and in every park. I'm amazed how every dog owner ALWAYS cleans up after their pet and disposes of it properly.
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Same issues exist at Grenadier Pond and it is particularly annoying and upsetting during nesting season and when the little goslings are about... The off-leash by-law is not enforced there at all and some dog owners can get quite outraged if you say anything to them so, often, people say nothing to avoid confrontation.
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It's bad along the Humber as well. I'll see dogs well before I see their owners, crashing through the undergrowth and chasing off the wildlife. Then the owner realises they have no control over them and spends ten minutes shouting the dog's name but it isn't listening. :?
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I always get the line " oh he's friendly!"
Friendly or not, he needs to be leashed...just because their dog is "friendly" doesn't mean he can run amuck
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While recently on a trail, I was asked to stop walking so the owner of of his unleashed dog could catch up to it. It is too bad and it's a growing problem. I like the dogs, it's the owners I hate.
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While recently on a trail, I was asked to stop walking so the owner of of his unleashed dog could catch up to it. It is too bad and it's a growing problem. I like the dogs, it's the owners I hate.
exactly.
i feel bad. i'm not a dog owner, and i do understand that dogs need to get a good run in order to stay in shape. but there are plenty of off leash parks. the most annoying place, though? Sam Smith and Brickworks. Both have nice off leash areas. but owners insist on not going there and letting their dogs run off leash where they shouldn't. that's just a sign of ignorance and disrespect.
i've emailed the Brickworks in the past and have offered to pay for extra signs reminded visitors that the park is not an off-leash area. they never got back to me.
also, Toronto's a multi-cultured city. my experience has shown that a fair percentage of immigrants from Asia (be it Chinese, Indian, Pakistani, etc) are very afraid of dogs. not sure if its cultural or due to wild dogs in their countries. i've walked my brother's dogs before and taken them to Centre Island. i do NOT suggest that dog owners get on that ferry w/dogs during a summer weekend. lots of people are scared of tiny dogs.
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I decided this year that I am going to start saying something to every off leash dog owner I see, because I am so sick of it! :twisted:
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O o o if the books are right then a special ring of hell must surely be a-waiting for 9 out of 10 dog "owners" who, more often that not, are less bright than even their droopy-headed dogs! I would like to start a special training camp for red-tailed hawks, our most abundant raptor, start them young, teach them how to swoop down and capture dogs and eat them! Start with the dogs, then the dog "owners" and red-tailed hawks will rule the skies like tiny dinosaurs! Ah, heaven's justice, where are you when we birders need you the most?
Angie, let's be vigilantes and beat up dog "owners" and yell crazy things at them like "That's right, dog OWNER, who owns you now?" And their dogs will look on and think, "At last a little peace. I am a slave no longer."
Ideas?
Or not?
Sorry!
David
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O o o if the books are right then a special ring of hell must surely be a-waiting for 9 out of 10 dog "owners" who, more often that not, are less bright than even their droopy-headed dogs! I would like to start a special training camp for red-tailed hawks, our most abundant raptor, start them young, teach them how to swoop down and capture dogs and eat them! Start with the dogs, then the dog "owners" and red-tailed hawks will rule the skies like tiny dinosaurs! Ah, heaven's justice, where are you when we birders need you the most?
Angie, let's be vigilantes and beat up dog "owners" and yell crazy things at them like "That's right, dog OWNER, who owns you now?" And their dogs will look on and think, "At last a little peace. I am a slave no longer."
Ideas?
Or not?
Sorry!
David
LMAO...are we watching too many dinosaur cartoons? thanks for the morning chuckle!
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O o o if the books are right then a special ring of hell must surely be a-waiting for 9 out of 10 dog "owners" who, more often that not, are less bright than even their droopy-headed dogs! I would like to start a special training camp for red-tailed hawks, our most abundant raptor, start them young, teach them how to swoop down and capture dogs and eat them! Start with the dogs, then the dog "owners" and red-tailed hawks will rule the skies like tiny dinosaurs! Ah, heaven's justice, where are you when we birders need you the most?
Angie, let's be vigilantes and beat up dog "owners" and yell crazy things at them like "That's right, dog OWNER, who owns you now?" And their dogs will look on and think, "At last a little peace. I am a slave no longer."
Ideas?
Or not?
Sorry!
David
Obviously my original response to the above post offended the sensibilities of one of the forum members so I have deleted it. I will now simply respond by saying that as a responsible dog owner I am deeply disappointed by the narrow-minded and ill-informed opinions expressed here.
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Let me guess......dog owner? Maybe some contributors should get a life, but you need to get a sense of humour. That's enjoying the folly or amusement in or of a situation, in case you weren't sure.
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O o o if the books are right then a special ring of hell must surely be a-waiting for 9 out of 10 dog "owners" who, more often that not, are less bright than even their droopy-headed dogs! I would like to start a special training camp for red-tailed hawks, our most abundant raptor, start them young, teach them how to swoop down and capture dogs and eat them! Start with the dogs, then the dog "owners" and red-tailed hawks will rule the skies like tiny dinosaurs! Ah, heaven's justice, where are you when we birders need you the most?
Angie, let's be vigilantes and beat up dog "owners" and yell crazy things at them like "That's right, dog OWNER, who owns you now?" And their dogs will look on and think, "At last a little peace. I am a slave no longer."
Ideas?
Or not?
Sorry!
David
Obviously my original response to the above post offended the sensibilities of one of the forum members so I have deleted it. I will now simply respond by saying that as a responsible dog owner I am deeply disappointed by the narrow-minded and ill-informed opinions expressed here.
i think that most birders disdain a lack of respect that people have for their environment. it can be dogs running off leash, people polluting or people getting too close to birds. its all the same.
if you have dogs, obey the law and let them go offleash in designated areas. don't go to Sam Smith or Brickworks and let them run around and crap everywhere and run through the bushes. even when a dog is close to an owner's heal, i don't like it when the dog comes up to me and puts its nose firmly in my groin. its called mutual respect and i can't respect a dog owner (or polluter or etc etc) if they don't respect me.
if you are a responsible dog owner, then you have absolutely nothing to worry about and i assume that none of the barbs are aimed at you. but if you're the guy who let his dog crap at Humber Bay East last year - the crap that I stepped in and tracked all over my car mat - then RING OF HELL FOR YOU!
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dog crap
Speaking of which, there's a pile at Lake Aquitaine at the moment that looks like it's from a horse!!! :shock: Amazing how much dog poop is showing up at all parks now that the snow has melted.
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I think the problem isn't so much that some dog owners are irresponsible (true), but that most dog owners are conscientious. They take their dogs for walks every day. Moreover, the demand for off-leash areas is sky-rocketing throughout North America. No one wants to admit that their enjoyment of nature is harmful, but natural areas can't tolerate high traffic levels, whether pedestrian or wheeled. (If you've been to the off-leash area of High Park recently you'll see what I mean, but even on Hawk Hill, where I whiled away many a happy hour this fall in the company of some of the most knowledgeable people and generous with it too, the grass where we were all standing is gone and the soil exposed.) Our natural areas are overloved.