A local councillor is hoping to see another space for dogs to run free in Chatham-Kent.
During the most recent council meeting, Councillor Anthony Ceccacci introduced a successful motion requesting that the municipality examines if there are any locations in Blenheim that would be suitable for an off-leash dog park.
Chatham-Kent municipal by-law states that dogs must be on a leash and controlled by a person unless it's on the pet owner's property, on a premise owned by someone who has given prior permission for the animal to be off-leash or when the animal is in a municipality-owned dog park.
There are currently only two off-leash areas in Chatham-Kent - John Waddell Park in Chatham and Happy Tails Dog Park in Wallaceburg.
According to Ceccacci, the residents of Blenheim have expressed interest in bringing a dog park to the community and questioned why there isn't one available.
Ceccacci said those concerns have only elevated over the past year, with more people getting outdoors than ever because of the pandemic.
"I can say I've probably received more complaints this last year than I have in the previous two years in regards to dogs [being] off leashes as well as residents not picking up after their dogs in regular parks," he explained.
When he started to look into the issue, Ceccacci said he realized just how many steps are involved in order to bring a dog park into a community. He said a majority of funds for the park have to be privately raised through different organizations, volunteers, and fundraisers.
Before even thinking about the finances, an area of land has to first be identified by the municipality where an off-leash space would be feasible.
"It has to be a specific ways away from houses. Obviously, fencing requirements. If [fences] are not there, that would be part of the funds that would have to be raised to install fencing," he said. "You also want it in an area that's going to be well utilized by not impact neighbours."
A report is set to come back to council before the end of May that identifies if there are any suitable locations. Ceccacci also requested that the report include more information about how the current dog parks are funding and facilitated.
"If there is a feasible area and there are groups in the area that are interested, it could be a positive thing for Blenheim to have something that I think would be very well utilized," said Ceccacci.