902 days ago

Dog Park Not A Perk

Michael from Trentham

Upper Hutt City Council asking for opinions on whether to install a dog park in Upper Hutt and then how elaborate this park should be. The costs are ongoing but initally estimated at $100,000 for option one and $300,000 for option two.

I say no dog park.

Upper Hutt does not need a dog park because almost all of its parks, reserves and tracks are available for dogs off-leash.

Parts of Maidstone Park, Trentham Memorial Park and other partial sports grounds have restricted availablity for dogs off-leash when a sporting fixture is actually being held on a certain part of the ground. Upper Hutt is the most dog friendly city or large town in NZ.

To be off-leash a dog needs to know the basics like come, sit, stay and one can teach a puppy or adult dog these kinds of commands from within their lounge.

The major factor wrong with dog parks is that too many dog owners who pay high annual dog registration fees, feel that they therefore own the park and that their dog/s is entitled to roam the park off-leash no matter their behavioural situation. Dog parks promote dog fights which can spill over to vicious human behaviour as well as place people at risk.

There are 6300 registered dogs in Upper Hutt and many people from all parts of the Wellington region bring their dogs to UH to enjoy the parks etc and the venues such as Brewtown.

What the council should be doing for dog owners is reducing the cost of annual registration fees and granting free microchipping.

I have placed proposals to council and councillors for a dog playground in UH. This calls for a small open area say within the confines of Trentham Memorial Park (where it gets up to 2000 dog visits a week) with some permanent obstacles etc installed to suit large, medium and small size dogs. The cost would probably be less than $20,000. This would be fun, relatively inexpensive and right where the main attraction and action is for dogs and their owners. TMP is perhaps the best park in the world available for dogs. It is centralised and has everything except for a playground as per above, and is a gateway to kilometres of trails/ tracks and other parks.

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8 hours ago

$50 garden centre vouchers!

The Team from Neighbourly.co.nz

Our winners this week have won $50 to spend at a local garden centre.
Congratulations to:

Cassie Arauzo from Cockle Bay

Elizabeth Williams from Hillcrest

Luke Shamy from Hornby

Mitchell Hopping from Wallacetown

Get in touch with our helpdesk team here if you're on this list! If you're not a winner, check back next week just in case.

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1 day ago

Same Again Dan

Michael from Trentham

Who else besides me has gotten annoyed well before now with TVOne weather presenter, Daniel Corbett constant use of the term: SAME THING AGAIN.

Dan uses this term at least two-three times on any evening he is doing the weather presentation. A year ago and it wasn't in his vocabulary.

Ok, NZ is not a huge country and therefore the weather region by region, city by city can be pretty similar. But to use the same terminology when there is either no need to or many alternatives, rankles me anyway.

His weather colleagues have never used this Corbett habitual three worded expression.

Another thing Dan does with so much more repetitiveness of late is the frimmp, woosh, voomb sounds of noise he makes to describe rain, wind, impending climatic conditions or whatever.

Come on Dan. You weren't doing or saying these things in the UK.

1 day ago

Poll: Is it okay to grocery shop in your PJs?

The Team from Neighbourly.co.nz

I'm sure you've seen it while doing your weekly shop... In fact, it may have even been you.

What do you think about people heading to the supermarket in their pyjamas?

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Is it okay to grocery shop in your PJs?
  • 14.5% It's fine!
    14.5% Complete
  • 75% It's questionable
    75% Complete
  • 10.5% Other - I'll share below
    10.5% Complete
1640 votes