Home owners association makes leash ruling

JUST a month after a dog was fatally attacked in Sunningdale Park, a decision has been made regarding the walking of dogs in the park. At the Sunningdale Home Owners’ Association (SHOA) AGM meeting held recently, residents voted in favour of dogs being on leads at the park.

According to Tyron Powell, who is a resident and owho sits on the SHOA committee, 40 out of the 70 residents present at the meeting voted that dogs should be on leads at all times. The park, which is owned and managed by the association, is exclusively for Sunningdale residents.

“We are busy having signs made to place in the park and it is going to be difficult to enforce, the onus is on dog owners to ensure their dogs are on leads all the time. I have four pugs and whenever I bring them down to the park, they are always on their leads. They are placid but I need to be able to stop a potentially nasty situation from occurring. The lead is there to protect your dog from the world as much as it’s there to protect the world from your dog, it allows you to control the situation,” he said.

Last month, Murray Staats’ dachshund, Izzy, was attacked by two dogs who were off leashes at the time. His wife, Molly, rushed their beloved pooch to the vet who said the dogs had gone for her jugular, she died a few days later from the wounds sustained in the attack. Powell added that, while this was not the first incident at the park or the first incident of someone being nipped at the park, it was the first time a dog had been killed.

“There will be fines issued to homeowners who do not comply with the rules. We had discussed the idea of dogs on leads in the past but the attack on the dachshund last month was the catalyst for the vote. I urge residents to visit the SHOA website, www.shoa.co.za, in order to learn more about the constitution or join our Facebook page for more information,” he said.