News / Doggy delight could be in store as Girlsta park plans lodged
A PARK exclusively for dog owners and their furry friends could soon be on the way in Girlsta.
Planning permission has been sought to fence off a 100 x 50 metre area behind a home in the area for dogs to exercise in.
The park would be available for use on a 30 minute to one hour basis, with the dog owner requiring to be present at all times.
Six to 10-foot high fencing would be used around the outside of the park to keep dogs inside.
Dog parks are available throughout Scotland, and provide safe and secure areas for dog owners to walk their pets and let them exercise.
The plans come with the backing of Dogs Against Drugs, with the charity’s Michael Coutts saying he is “very much in favour of a dog park in Shetland”.
And a survey of dog owners in the isles also found that people were hugely supportive of the proposal.
An overwhelming majority, 97 per cent, of people who responded said that Shetland is in need of a dog park.
More than half also said they would be willing to travel between 20-40 minutes to use the facility.
Of 172 people who responded to a question about where they live, 85 either lived in the Central Mainland or Lerwick – with 34 willing to travel from the South Mainland.
The vast majority of respondents said they would like owners to be required to supervise their dogs at all times, and for a code of conduct to be put in place for owners.
Waste disposal facilities, water stations and a secure area for off-lead exercise and recall training were all listed as priorities for the park by survey respondents.
Seventy-one per cent were in favour of a “pay as you go” approach to the facility.
Coutts added he felt the park “would be of great benefit to all people in Shetland who own a dog”.
“This asset is something that has been missing from the Shetland community for years, and it is great you are on the road to creating one,” he wrote to the applicants.
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