The place hasn't gone to the dogs, and that's the problem.
Six new on-leash signs popped up in Bridgman Park recently, much to the dismay of North Vancouver animal owners who prefer their dogs off the chain.
"People are furious. They're not doing it," said dog devotee Dave Holden.
Holden has been strolling down the riverside trail south of the Keith Road bridge for 10 years and said he's rarely seen Bridgman dog walkers observe the area's leash laws.
"There's no reason to say this area is on-leash. It's a trail, it's not near houses," Holden said. "Why not go with what the people want, the majority, and make it off-leash?"
The area's leash bylaws have not changed, according to district communications coordinator Stephanie Smiley, who pointed out there are adjacent off-leash areas in Lynnmouth Park to the south and in the north end of Bridgman.
The district's focus is on educating dog walkers, according to Smiley.
"At this point there are no plans to increase enforcement," she wrote in an email.
Holden was skeptical, suggesting the signs might be a prelude to a flurry of fines.
"That looks like a leadup to a crackdown," he said.
The signs are an unreasonable incursion into a canine social club, according to Holden.
"If we want dogs to behave well they need to socialize like this off-leash," Holden said.
From time to time a couple dogs might growl or nip at each other, but owners tend to defuse the incidents quite quickly, according to Holden.
"Every once in a while. .. someone who has a complete fear of dogs decides to take a walk through the park, which is kind of a strange place if you're terrified of dogs," he said. "I wouldn't walk down the middle of a train track if I was scared of trains."
The owner of two weimaraners, Holden refers to their Bridgman Park excursion as "their daily exorcism."
"I have big dogs and they need their exercise and that means running, that doesn't mean a little prance around the block," he said.
