Posts by Andre Wanlin

“Winnipeg Network of Dog Owner Groups” (WINDOG) recently appeared in delegation at a City of Winnipeg Council meeting regarding the Off Leash Area Master Plan (OLAMP).  A detailed summary can be found on the WINDOG site.   Please read the article for information about the benefit WINDOG provides to all dog park users in Winnipeg.

You can also watch the video below of the Winnipeg City Council discussing OLAMP. This video is setup to start at the beginning of the conversation and runs for approximately 5 minutes.

The annual Super-Spike event is going to be taking place at Maple Grove Park in 2 weeks on July 20th and 21st. This event is Western Canada’s largest outdoor volleyball tournament, ultimate tournament, and two-day concert series, and every dollar raised supports local charities. If you are planning to be at the dog park it will be extremely busy these two days.

Here’s a more specific schedule (subject to change so you may want to check the Super-Spike site itself):

Volleyball/Ultimate Tournament:

• Friday, July 20 – 6:00pm to 9:30pm
• Saturday, July 21 – 11:00am to 9:00pm

Outdoor Concerts:

• Friday, July 20 – 7:00pm to 1:00am
• Saturday, July 21 – 2:00pm to 2:00am

We are excited to announce that our fence project has been completed and installed at the park. Thanks to everyone who contributed by becoming a member or donation, we appreciate all your support.

We just wanted to say Thank You to everyone who came out for our first annual Dog Day in May event! What an amazing day; fun was had by all – large or small.

The winner of our raffle prizes are:

1. Sweet Retreat bakery, Tim Horton gift card coffee mug, volleyball jersey etc. Winner: Ryann Bannerman, ticket #108829.
2. Perfectly Raw frozen dog Food, from Thrive Pet Food Market. Winner: Genevieve Sahulka, ticket #108841
3. Happy Tails Pet Resort and Spa Package. Winner: Tara Perchaluk, ticket #108762
4. Custom slip lead from Manitoba Animal Actors & Bark Box of Super Chewers. Winner: Cindy Pelletier & her dog Yuki. Ticket #108848.
5. Gift Basket by Global Pets. Winner: Stacey Soldier. Ticket #108846.

As many Maple Grove Dog Park dog park users know, the City of Winnipeg has just released a draft of its log-awaited Off-Leash Areas Master Plan (OLAMP) along with a feedback survey (deadline of May 20th).

Once approved by Winnipeg City Council, the plan will set the direction for the management of existing off-leash areas and the creation of new ones.

The plan has one serious flaw. We are asking Maple Grove dog owners to act now to ensure that the final plan is one that is designed to better protect our dogs, enhance the experience of exercising and socializing them, while at the same time reducing the risk to ourselves of legal liability. 

The Issue:
Off-leash dog parks are the only public spaces where dogs can legally be off-leash to exercise and socialize with other dogs and people.

Working independently and through the Winnipeg Network of Dog Owner Groups (WINDOG), of which MGPDOA is a founding member, your Board of Directors has long advocated for “single-use” dog parks where only those activities associated with off-leash dogs are permitted.

Through WINDOG, your Board has repeatedly asked the City to approve a plan that will ensure dog parks are single-use parks, just as municipal golf courses, soccer and baseball fields, skateboard parks, and children’s pools and splash pads are all designated for specific user groups. Dogs and their families need their own designated recreational spaces.

During the public consultation process, your Board along with many individual dog owners from all over Winnipeg asked that off-leash areas be designated “single-use”. City officials and project consultants were resistant to the concept and, while the draft OLAMP acknowledges the requests, all dog parks except the very smallest neighbourhood dog parks are designated as “multi-use”.

This designation favours all other stakeholder groups who already have access to an abundance of parkland and greenspace – 10,000 acres in total – all of which is either designated as “on-leash” or where dogs are not permitted under any circumstances. 200 acres in total is set aside for off-leash dogs. We need to balance this by ensuring there are areas where dogs can run free and only “off-leash” activities are permitted.

Unfortunately, the OLAMP clarifies that running, mountain biking, and other incompatible activities will be permitted inside larger neighbourhood, community and regional parks like Maple Grove.

The Liability:
Winnipeg’s Responsible Pet Ownership By-law states that a dog owner “must ensure that the dog does not pursue any individual or animal. The OLAMP recommends that the by-law be amended to clarify that dog owners who enter a dog park are responsible for their dog(s) actions at all times. That means if your dog were to chase a runner or cyclist, even if the person were not injured, you would be at fault and could be fined $200.

It’s not too late to change the draft OLAMP. The City is asking for our feedback. The final version will be approved by City Council in July.

Please show your support for Maple Grove’s position that off-leash dog parks be designated “single-use” by completing the City’s online survey at https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/OLAMP. The last question asks whether you support single-use dog parks.

The deadline for responding to the survey is May 20.

MGPDOA would like to thanks everyone who came to out Doggie Doo Doo day event and helped us clean up the park. Come the spring we will have a much nicer park to enjoy with our dogs thanks to the hard work of everyone who came.

Maple Grove officially became an off-leash area in 1998 (when the City designated our first Dog Parks) but it has been enjoyed by dog walkers and nature lovers for decades, ever since St. Vital expanded further south. We share the area called Maple Grove with the Mustangs (who are celebrating 70 years here), the Rugby Club (established 1985) and our newest neighbours are the Manitoba Organization of Disc Sports (MODS), who were gifted a portion of our off-leash area in 2005.

Maple Grove is now the second largest dog park in Winnipeg and we have members from all over the City. The designated off-leash area is the interior fields and forest, running along the paths (North of the ditch that runs in front of the parking lot). The off-leash park is a multi-use City of Winnipeg area that is owned by the City of Winnipeg Parks Department and governed by Animal Services’ laws and the riverbanks belong to the Province.

The current Maple Grove Park Dog Owners’ Association (MGPDOA) was formalized and incorporated in 2001 (in response to the City’s plan to give away a 3rd of the park to the MODS). The organization is a group of volunteers who elect a Board (ranges from 5-12 people) to speak for them and through the Adopt a Park program, agree to help keep the park clean.

One of the unique feature of Maple Grove Dog Park is the fully fenced in puppy play pen. Volunteers cleaned up this “pen” that was previously used for equipment storage by the City. It was filled with saplings and burdock and is now a safe place for dogs who are new to the park. Volunteers used to carry the bags of garbage to the front BFI bin. Volunteers hold clean-up days, membership drives and an annual AGM.

MGPDOA has been able to secure grants from the City’s Land Dedication reserve to help make improvements to the park like our parking lot, in-ground garbage bins and now we are in the process of securing the final funds needed to build a fence across the South end of our area!