Hamilton to begin gathering data to help plan creation of more dog parks

The City of Hamilton may be reaching out to the city’s dog owners, as it works on plans to open up many of its parks for dogs, so that their life doesn’t always mean being on the end of a leash. City councillors say it’s about time Hamilton gets up to date on 21st century dog ownership. That means making room for dogs and owners that don’t have big backyards, or access to open spaces, and providing more leash-free parks. Hamilton’s four-legged, furry canine friends were big news at city hall Monday. “This is the hot topic — this is the topic that comes up with every dog owner in Hamilton,” said Andrea Jazovit, the founder of Dog-Friendly Hamilton. Jazovit told Hamilton’s Public Works Committee that frustration is building among dog owners who can’t access the leash-free parks that are available. “Not everyone is lucky enough to have a backyard for their dog to run around in, and not everyone has a car that can get them to that faraway dog park, and people care because they care about their dogs so much,” said Jazovit.