We are pleased to see that Collett Park has seen an increase in community use with the improvement of the weather and indeed an improvement on the facilities available to us.
A real community hub that affords people of all ages and place to relax, unwind or to tire out our children before bedtime.
However, with the increase in human traffic there has been an increase in the number of Dogs being brought to the park. Some people are tying and leaving their dog while they enter the play area.
Please can we offer a gentle reminder that both Dogs and Children can be unpredictable. Even a placid and much-loved family pet can react with a bite or nervous aggression if startled, or ‘attacked’ by unwelcome hands trying to stroke, pet or pull them in a busy environment. They may be fine at home, but sensory overload in such an environment can cause out of character behaviours. When a Dog is aware that it is tied and alone with no way to retreat, it will turn to aggression and ‘defence’.
While your Dog is out in public you remain legally responsible for it. If any such incident happens, and you are not in a position to stop that incident (or have not taken precautions such as a muzzle to prevent that incident) then you may be committing the offence of allowing your ‘Dog to be dangerously out of control’.
Under section 3(1) of the 1991 Act (as amended by the Anti-Social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014, (the ‘2014 Act’)), if any dog is dangerously out of control in any place, including all private property, the owner, or person for the time being in charge of the dog, is guilty of a summary offence. That offence becomes an aggravated offence, and triable either way, if the dog injures any person or an assistance dog while out of control.
We therefore politely request that Dogs are not left unsupervised in the park.
