A dog’s life at Gosling Creek for pet-owners

You wouldn’t do it to a dog!

 Dog-owners were recently reminded by Orange Council that Gosling Creek is a ‘no-dog-zone’.

 But it’s runaway, overly-competitive speeding cyclists that should be banned from Gosling Creek Reserve — not man’s best friend, local dog-lover Leanne Elliot says.

 As for dogs taking wildlife, they are far more likely to be prey to feral cats and foxes, which she believes abound in the location.

 The reclaimed natural wetland and bush area should be the perfect place to walk your dog on a lead, she says, particularly in the current pandemic quarantines.

 “With lockdown, more people are coming-out of their houses to places like this for their break,” Leanne said walking her beloved Border Collie cross Australian Shepherd, “Tilda” recently.

 “I’ve been doing this for 18-months as part of a health drive, and there is no reason that I shouldn’t be able to do it if my dog is on a lead,” she added.

 “Residents walking their dogs in south Orange are being encouraged to make use of the leash-free areas at Bloomfield Park and to keep their dogs away from the environmentally-sensitive Gosling Creek reserve,” a Council media releases said.

 Dog-owners are instead restricted to Bloomfield Park towards Huntley Road with about 20 hectares of open spaces with Gosling Creek Reserve along Forest Road a habitat for waterbirds and native animals, Council added.

 Leanne says, however that cyclists traveling through the park are a greater risk than a dog on a lead.

 I do walk through Gosling Reserve with my dog on a leash, and I access the toilets there as well.

 “I take my dog off the lead once at Bloomfield Park so she can run around which is a leash-free park, yet signage says dogs need to be on a leash when on paths or in the bush, so how does that work?” she asked.

 However, she says that Bloomfield park, far from being “an ideal place for dogs and their owners to get some fresh air and for their pets to socialise,” as described by Orange Mayor, Councillor Reg Kidd, is instead a second-rate facility.

 “The Bloomfield Park paths are rubbish, there are no toilets there, Gosling Reserve is a lot more pleasant for her, as well as for me, it’s just a lot nicer walk and has all the facilities that you want,” she said.

 She said that a dog on a lead is no more threat to the native wildlife in the reserve than a person is.

 “No-one tells the ducks to stay in one area, they are more likely to be taken by foxes or feral cats, which this area is full-of, than a domestic dog,” she opined.

 Signage in the area however makes it clear that dogs are banned at Gosling Creek Reserve. “It’s disappointing when people choose to ignore those signs,” Cr Kidd said.

 The fine for having a dog in an area where dogs are banned is an on-the-spot fine of $110.

 “I just think that’s unfair, the fines, if I have to go the toilet, what do I do with my dog? In the end, I pay my rates and I’m entitled to my opinion,” Leanne said.