Regina dog park users voicing frustration after city removes waste bag supply

Users of a public dog park in Regina are voicing their frustration after the city suspended its supply of waste bags at the park, leading to an increase of feces being left on the ground.

Mariel Harvey and her dog Freya use the Cathy Lauritsen Memorial Off-leash Dog Park on a regular basis. They love the wide-open space because Freya needs the room to be able to play.

Recently, they have noticed an increase in the amount of feces being left on the ground.

“There’s dog excrement everywhere, more than I’ve ever seen,” said Harvey.

Harvey said most owners bring their own waste bags and clean up after their dogs, but at times, people forget or run out. Regular users explained to CTV News that waste bags, which were supplied by the city, used to be available at the entrance to the park.

“Last week, I needed a bag and I realized there weren’t any,” said Harvey. “It was somewhat of an inconvenience because you don’t want to leave their waste and according to the rules, you have to pick it up.”

“I’m seeing it more since they got rid of the bags,” said one dog owner. “People are used to having them there and they haven’t got up to speed on them not being there.”

According to park user Amanda Kent, bags have not been available since September, but signage notifying the public of the change was not installed until last week.

She has taken it upon herself to do a little extra in helping clean up some of the excess feces.

“I’m always carrying extra bags because I know people are not doing their part,” she said. “I don’t know why they stopped providing that service.”

In a statement to CTV News, the City of Regina said it phased out city-supplied waste bags to reduce plastic waste.

“In the same way [the city] has garbage cans in a park, if they didn’t, where are people going to be more likely to leave their garbage,” asked an owner. “If you don’t want garbage and you don’t want dog [feces], maybe make it a little more convenient.”

There are multiple signs on the fence at the entrance to the park, telling owners to immediately pick up any waste their dog leaves on the ground or face potential penalties.

“Part of owning a dog is that responsibility,” said Kent. “I don’t know why people who have dogs pick up elsewhere, but they don’t pick up here. And why wouldn’t they have bags knowing they’re bringing their dog to a park and may or may not do its business.”

Harvey would like to see alternative solutions, like biodegradable bags, provided.

“It would be nice for people to have that option when they come here if they do happen to forget a bag,” she said.

The city has implemented a “Share a bag, Take a bag” tube at the Mount Pleasant dog park. The project started as a pilot in 2022 and will be installed at all other year-round public dog parks this spring.

“Users can re-stock the tubes with plastic bags they may have at home or with a roll of bags for others to use,” the city said. “In the meantime, users of dog parks are asked to help maintain and look after the space by picking up after themselves and their pets.”

“We do want to leave it as a clean and enjoyable space for everyone,” said Harvey. “It’s a very simple thing to pick up after your dog.”