Are dog run fences too low?

Questions concerning local dog runs — one on Lansdowne Avenue and the other in King George Park — brought a large white canine named Chaucer to Westmount city council with his master, Paul Creighton, last Monday night.

Creighton, of Argyle Avenue, takes issue with the height of fences surrounding the dog runs. “Chaucer, when he is standing as he is now, is at eye level with the fences in both dog runs,” said Creighton.

Chaucer is able to jump over the fence with relatively little trouble this time of the year when there isn’t any snow on the ground. However, in the winter, with snow drifts building up around the fences, Creighton said that even Chihuahuas can make the jump.

While Chaucer, who seemed bored by the proceedings, laid down to rest, causing council to erupt momentarily in laughter, Creighton said the gates at the dog parks aren’t up to snuff either, although one was recently replaced on Lansdowne. But at the King George Park facility, one of the gates is held in place with what he described as an “industrial-strength rubber band.”

“The hedging has a lot of holes in it, and furthermore it is cut to the same height as the fence. So if you let the hedge grow, that would perhaps solve most of the problem, because the dogs do not see the height so much. They see the width they have to jump.”

Mayor Karin Marks said council would take Creighton’s suggestions into consideration, although she noted that security concerns could overrule having taller hedges. “We’ve had high hedges that are very dense and they provide very good hiding places for people,” she said.