News & Updates from the park

Club BBQ Rescheduled

Posted by Kilcona Park Dog Club / in Events, Information /

Club BBQ Rescheduled

With rain and unseasonably cool temperatures in the forecast for the next four days, KPDC 10^th Annual BBQ has been rescheduled to June 8^th from 11am to 3pm.

You and your favorite dog(s) are invited to KPDC’s “funtastic” party in the park! Join us for an afternoon of great food, fun and friends.

Our grill masters will be serving up Winnipeg’s finest –  JD Hogg’s quality custom-smoked, lactose and gluten-free sausages, hot dogs, and hamburgers. This year vegie burgers and gluten-free buns have been added to KPDC’s healthful, eclectic menu.

KPDC members receive discounts on all food and beverages. If you need to, you can purchase or renew your membership on site.

Pick up KPDC’s new “I own a dog AND I vote” bumper stickers, try your luck in the 50/50 draw – all proceeds to park improvements – and stop and visit with KPDC’s partners and corporate sponsors.

Dog Owners Fear Losing Park to Economic Development

Posted by president@kilconaparkdogclub.ca / in Information /

Photo Credit: CBC – Leslie McLaren

Watch CBC Winnipeg’s  television newscast http://cbc.sh/CzTBGIk for the latest story on the threat to Winnipeg off-leash areas or read the story on-line at:

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/story/2013/05/24/mb-little-mountain-dog-park-rosser-centreport.html

Annual Spring BBQ

Posted by Kilcona Park Dog Club / in Events, Information /

Get Your Fill of Burgers and Dogs!

We’re having a party and you and your favorite dog(s) are invited!

 

KPDC’s dog and family-friendly 10th Annual Spring BBQ promises to be a “funtastic” event. Join us for an afternoon of great food, fun and friends on Saturday June 1st from 11am to 3pm.

Our grill masters will be serving up JD H Hoggs quality custom-smoked, lactose and gluten-free sausages, hot dogs, and hamburgers. This year vegie burgers and gluten-free buns have been added to KPDC’s healthful, eclectic menu.

KPDC members receive discounts on all food and beverages. If you need to, you can purchase or renew your membership on site.

Pick up KPDC’s new “I own a dog AND I vote” bumper stickers,  try your luck in the 50/50 draw – all proceeds to park improvements – and stop and visit with KPDC’s partners and corporate sponsors.

Keep Calm and Bark On

Posted by Kilcona Park Dog Club / in Information /

 

Credit: Rob Pristupa

 Recently I received a report that Winnipeg Animal Services officers had been at Kilcona photographing license plates of owners who let their dog leave their vehicle without a leash. The person who reported the incident said these dog owners believed they were going to be fined.

Like most rumours, there’s a germ of truth in this story.

Animal Services has confirmed they check all of Winnipeg’s off-leash parks on a regular basis for everything from dog license compliance to proper use of on and off leash areas so here’s a friendly reminder to KPDC members.

The fine for having your dog off leash fine is $100. And if you still don’t have a license you should know that the non-compliance penalty’s pretty steep. For any unlicensed dog collared by Animal Services, there’s a $250 fine, plus a $52 impoundment fee, a daily $23 boarding fee, and tax….and you still have to buy the license to get out of jail!

You can save yourself all that grief – dog licenses only cost $29 a year for spayed/neutered dogs, and $64 for intact animals. Visit Animal Services website to find out where to purchase a license. http://www.winnipeg.ca/cms/animal/Licenses/

 

KPDC fully supports Animal Services’ Zero Tolerance licensing policy. Funds raised through the sale of licenses have allowed WASA to transform the former Dog Pound into virtually a no-kill facility where lost dogs are fed and sheltered until they can be re-united with their owners.

Dog licensing revenues are also used to fund WASA’s Dog Adoption Program.

In 2008 359 dogs were euthanized. Last year that number dropped by 75% – only 92 aggressive and terminally ill shelter animals were destroyed.

 

Animal Services Adoption/Volunteer Coordinator Lorna Verschoore with adoptive family

Photo credit: City of Winnipeg

Adorable adoptables Noah and Eva were found near the corner of Ellice Ave.  and Wall St.

Photo credit: City of Winnipeg

 

Animal Services officer responds to a call to rescue a puppy from a Jefferson Ave. dumpster

Photo credit: Winnipeg Sun

 

Wet and a little dehydrated, Rayne was given medical care and placed for adoption.

Photo credit: Winnipeg Sun

Dog licensing revenues are also used to:

• return licensed stray dogs to their owners through the “Free Ride Home” program
• transport lost dogs that require emergency care to a veterinarian
• educate the public about responsible pet ownership
• provide emergency services including attending house fires, car accidents, and police assists to help in the removal of animals.
• pick up stray dogs, including dogs that have attacked people.
• help neighbours resolve their problems related to dogs

A matted cat pulled from the ashes by firefighters is transferred to Animal Services Shelter.

Photo credit: Winnipeg Free Press

As a responsible dog owner, please remember Animal Services is your ally. Kilcona Park Dog Club relies on Animal Services to check the park for compliance with respect to dog waste, and aggressive dogs and dog owners (including the recent mauling involving Tank).  KPDC and Animal Services meet several times a year and partner in public education initiatives like the new Pet-iquette dog park safety/etiquette brochure. WASA’s adorable adoptables are standard features at club events.

 

Winnipeg Animal Services “Adorable Adoptables”, Elmer and Flynn at KPDC’s 2012 Spring BBQ

Photo Credit – Colleen Blouin

Animal Services receives more than 12,000 calls for service a year. Last year, thanks to mandatory dog licensing and the agency’s “Free Ride Home” program, 927 dogs wearing current licenses were reunited by 311 operators without ever setting foot in the Animal Services facility. Of the dogs that came through the shelter doors, the agency was able to return 94% to a home — some to their original owners – others to a new owner or an animal rescue organization

This Week at City Hall

Posted by Kilcona Park Dog Club / in Information /

Two key City Councillors have pledged full support for KPDC’s plan to expand Kilcona Dog Park and grant seasonal off- leash access to the ponds, Forest Trail and paved pathways.

 

 

 

Last week KPDC President Donna Henry presented the club’s plan to North Kildonan Councillor Jeff Browaty and Transcona Councillor Russ Wyatt and asked them to approve it. Both Councillors expressed interest in KPDC’s proposal to partner with the City and the club’s corporate sponsors to fund future projects in the off-leash area.

 

Councillors Wyatt and Browaty agree that any park management plan must support the people who actually use the park. And according to the City’s own documents, “The dog walkers constitute…by far the largest number of users in the park. While facilities exist for soccer and softball, these are exceptions, rather than the rule.”

Councillor Browaty has a history of supporting Kilcona dog owners.  During the 2010 civic election campaign, he pledged, “If re-elected I will work to find ways to…make the dog park the city’s premier off-leash facility.”

 

North Kildonan Councillor Jeff Browaty at Kilcona off-leash area September 2009

At a recent meeting with KPDC Directors, Browaty told City administrators and consultants that any new plan for Kilcona must not only be fiscally reasonable, it must resolve two key issues. Recent engineering studies identified problems with aging control structures – weirs and culverts – on Kilcona’s system of storm water retention ponds and further downstream. Impeded drainage caused flooding, which in turn, has created serious structural damage to Harbourview’s retaining wall, docks and several buildings.

 

Councillor Wyatt confirmed he will not approve an expansion of the ponds in the off-leash area to create a lake for dragon boat and kayak races for the 2017 Summer Games.

 

Transcona Councillor Russ Wyatt

Wyatt favours using the Red and Assiniboine race courses and expanding Transcona’s Lake Shirley as a new venue for dragon boat racing.

 

Dragon boats on Transcona’s Lake Shirley

Councillor Wyatt acknowledged  the recent closure of the Transcona’s only off-leash area, together with the downsizing of Little Mountain, and the extension of the Chief Peguis Trail have driven the number of dogs and people beyond the current carrying capacity of Kilcona Dog Park.

Wyatt was surprised to learn that KPDC membership records show Kilcona serves not only the citizens of North and East Kildonan, Transcona, and Elmwood, but also West and Old Kildonan, Mynarski, St. Boniface, St. Vital, East and West St Paul and Selkirk.

Councillor Wyatt alluded to a recent flood of emails he’s received protesting changes to the off-leash area and he credited Kilcona dog owners for their effective lobbying efforts. The Councillor quipped, “Who, who, who let the dogs out?”

 

The Councillors’ support for KPDC’s off-leash area plan is important.The final Kilcona Park Master Plan, which will include a land-use plan for the off-leash area, must be approved by City Council. Councillors Wyatt and Browaty are members of City Council’s most powerful committee – the Executive Policy Committee. Councillor Wyatt serves as Deputy Mayor while Councillor Browaty serves as Acting Deputy Mayor.

The Councillors also sit on the East Kildonan-Transcona Community Committee (EKT), the only Community Committee that’s a member of Kilcona Park/Harbourview Recreation Complex Stakeholder Group.

Kilcona stakeholders review maps at visioning workshop.

Publically, East Kildonan’s Thomas Steen, the third EKT Councillor East Kildonan Councillor has said little about the matter.  Responding to emails protesting the proposed downsizing, he said,  “Harbourview /KilCona Park is certainly in need of some re-development. Many areas and facilities are greatly underutilized due to aging infrastructure and limited resources. The goal of the re-development is to create a space that services many different types of users. I am not supportive of any large reduction to the off-leash dog area.”

East Kildonan Councillor Thomas Steen