Beach Bacteria

I don't want to sully our enjoyment of the meagre spring weather we're experiencing by bringing back memories of our cold and windy winter living on the shores of Lake Ontario but after reading the article in the most recent Beach Metro our local community paper, I have no choice.

The article headline says it all-'Dog Association Wants Right to Use Beaches in Winter' (http://www.beachmetro.com/)

My concern with the article is our councillor's response to our request. She has asked the mayor's office to authorize a pilot project for next year allowing dogs ON LEASH ONLY to use the area beaches in the winter months, as a way to 'study the impact on our Blue Flag Beaches' citing ' it's a matter of bacteria and cleanliness.'

Well, so what's my issue with that??? We get what every dog owner in the beach has been asking for---dogs being allowed on the beach during the winter months! Right?

So let me get this right....dogs ON LEASH on the beach in the winter months as opposed to dogs running free on the beach will impact the environment differently. There will be a difference in the bacteria count if the dog's are off-leash?

Hmm...this could only be possible if owners are strolling along the boardwalk, sipping their lattes deep in conversation with a companion, mindless of their four-footed charges.(unfortunately, I see this all the time, summer and winter.) These same owners don't even care to know where and when their dog has left its mess until they hear someone call out to them, 'excuse me, your dog has just dumped' or 'excuse me, do you need a bag" ?(pointing in the direction of the crouching perpetrator) Many a jogger is guilty of this offense! Not to mention the mounted police, who exercise their horses on the beach, summer and winter months. I have never in 20+ years seen an officer get off his horse and clean up after it. Nope, it's the dog owners who pick up after them. (unless the dogs get to it first!)

So, for me it goes right back to the basics....responsible dog owners, who are mindful as to the whereabouts of their dog at all times, when off-leash.

I guess whether off-leash or on-leash, if the owners arn't responsible there will be issues with bacteria and cleanliness summer and winter. If not on the beach proper, it will be be in our parkettes along the boardwalk and in the parks. It's not a matter of allowing dogs off-leash or not that will make our beach area cleaner. It's a matter of responsible ownership and taking responsibility for our environmental and ecological footprint.

When by-law officers focus on ticketing the true offenders; the persons who are guilty of riddling the beach with bacteria and dirt, those who leave garbage, be it in the form of dog feces, horse dung or dirty diapers, they will be doing their job. Then perhaps this vilification of all dog owners will cease!

Blue Flag Designation

I've just returned from the very first Toronto Beaches Dog Association meeting. A great turnout with bodies overflowing into the hallway, people straining to hear what was being said.
The politicians of Toronto have met their match with the dog owners .
As far as I can gather, this 'Blue Flag' designation that has been bestowed upon our beach doesn't meet with the criteria for blue flag designation. The Environmental Defence (http://www.environmentaldefence.ca/reports/blueflag.htm) group has measured our beach against the 27 Blue Flag criteria and agree our beach meets these standards. Hmm....
As a person who has walked on the beach three times a day (every day!) for the past 20 years I have a different view.

When I see the litter, the garbage, the pieces of rusty metals; some of which has been there for years, the broken beer bottles (from the teens partying at night) the used condoms left for little kids to pick up, the dirty diapers and chicken bones, complete with used napkins, I am in awe of this Environmental Defence group. Yes, we want to encourage tourism back to Toronto, indeed into the province of Ontario but I have to wonder what kind of political backroom deal this is.
For instance, 'A daily beach cleaning during the bathing season when necessary.' and
' No algal or other vegetation may accumulate and be left to decay on the beach, except in areas
designated for a specific use and as long as this does not constitute a nuisance.'

I have not seen a 'daily cleaning of the beach' since the cutbacks-before that, every other morning there would be a sand-raking machine out there. I have seen the algae in late August so thick, kids wading into the water at certain areas of the shoreline are playing with it and they come out of the water with green legs!

We can't even refer to what is on the beach as sand at Kew Beach, because about 10 years ago there were truckloads and truckloads of crushed stone or gravel brought in to top off our 'sand.'
It would be interesting to analyze the composition of the 'sand' at Kew Beach and let's say the sand down at Woodbine Beach, where the Volleyball nets are set up.

Now we've been told there are no dogs allowed on the beach to comply with the 'Blue Flag Beach' designation. In the European Blue Flag Beach Criteria (2003) it nowhere states dogs aren't allowed on a beach as part of the criteria - it's a 'guideline criteria' so whatever City council decides where this one is concerned, is acceptable.


There is a new website for the Beaches Dog Association and I hope anyone who enjoys the sunrises and sunsets the boardwalk and beach offers, will consider visting the site and signing up to become a member and offer their time and talent. There's also a Facebook group.
I goggled them tonight with no luck but will post the links as soon as I can.

Time to take my girl for her walk.