(haipo) - Dog owners in Haifa claim that for years the municipality promises to establish dog parks throughout the city, such that they will allow their dogs to be released to move and play freely, which they claim is a real need for the dogs and for the community. Now the owners of the dogs are complaining that not only have the promises not been kept, certainly not to the required level, but recently inspectors have even started handing out fines with high frequency.
Dozens of dog owners held a meeting last night (Mon. 22/7/24) at "Gan Shmuel" in Haifa (on Haina Street, near the entrance to the Carmelia neighborhood). The purpose of the meeting was to find a solution to a problem that bothers many of them - fines that dog owners receive in recent weeks when they release their dogs in public areas, despite being deserted at the time, according to them.
One of the main claims raised by dog owners in Haifa is the lack of dog parks in many neighborhoods, so that in fact, they have no other option to let their dogs out so they can play a little freely.
concerns the whole city
"The fight is for the dog owners from all over Haifa and from all the neighborhoods where there are no dog parks," explains one of the activists, Rona Perkis. Carmelia, Dania, Kabvir (which had an agreement with the municipality regarding a certain garden, but it was canceled by the municipality, according to Perkis) Shambor neighborhood, Ahuza, Derech Hayam, Neot Peres, Ramat Hanasi, Ramot Sapir and other neighborhoods. The city of Haifa is the second in Israel in terms of the number of dogs it has, after Tel Aviv, while Tel Aviv has a dog park for every 5,000 residents, while in Haifa there is a dog park for every 15,000 residents."
Pay and be punished
"The municipal coffers receive money every year from licenses that dog owners are required to pay, but we feel that we are not getting any return. What bothers us the most is that over the years we have received countless promises to establish dog parks in the neighborhoods (promises that, of course, have not been fulfilled) and then we also receive fines in our attempts to find replacements to the dog parks".
The dog owners walked from Magen Shmuel to Gan Avshalom, with a stop at Carmelia Square. The reactions of passing drivers encouraged them, according to them. At Gan Shmuel, a discussion was held regarding the fines, the holding of the meetings and the manner of action in the future. The desire of the participants is to raise awareness of the difficulty that arises due to the lack of dog parks, which the dog owners see as a health need for the well-being of the dog, a community need for the well-being of the residents and also a solution to the problem of feces on the sidewalks.
Not a new predicament
It should be noted that the fight over the dog parks has been going on for about a decade. On the one hand the dog owners demand dog parks and on the other hand parents of small children are indignant when dog owners let their dogs loose in playgrounds. The owners of the dogs in the current fight managed to find an interim solution, at least temporarily, and they release the dogs in areas where children are not present with their parents.
5 years was a sign
"What upsets us is that over the years the municipality promised to establish dog parks in several neighborhoods in the city and it was not done," explains Perkis. "In 2016, the municipality hung a sign in the Shmuel Garden, announcing that a dog park would soon be opened there. The sign remained in place for 5 years until it was removed. Over the years, the dog owners found creative solutions, which included using playgrounds at times when there are no children, or in open public areas. Occasionally there were Inspectors come and give a warning, but that's the end of the matter."
Huge amount of fines
About two months ago, according to dog owners, the municipality began sending inspectors every day and even several times a day, to various gardens in the city, including inspectors who hide among the bushes. "The amount of fines given in the last two months for dogs loose in open areas, when there are no people around, is huge. It is a fine of NIS 500. On Ruth Street there is a green and fenced corner where we used to go. On one of the Shabbats, inspectors came, there were 3 loose dogs in a closed area, and like scumbags they got on the sidewalk, got out of the car with the chip readers and despite the appeal of the dog owners and their attempts to explain that the area is not a children's area and does not disturb anyone, they received a total fine of 1,500 NIS ".
Important for dogs, but not only
The dog owners claim that the dog parks have a huge meaning for the dogs and the community. "In the garden on Ruth Street, an elderly woman used to come with her dog. From the moment inspectors started coming there, almost all the dog owners stopped coming there. We were told that the woman used to come every day and sit alone with her dog. In the end she had a stroke, and there is no doubt that the loneliness which she suffered from did not contribute to her. One of the residents wrote in Carmelia's WhatsApp group and shared that she is blind and her guide dog, who works very hard, also needs to meet with friends and release energy." In addition, the dog owners say that both in May 2022 and in May 2023, the city council discussed the establishment of dog parks in Carmelia and Dania. According to them, every time it is agreed in the council that the finance committee should budget the issue of the dog parks, but in practice, nothing progresses.
to raise awareness
Perkis points out that the struggle began about a month ago: "We meet two or three times a week at the playgrounds in Carmelia, with the aim of raising awareness of the problem and recruiting more people to the struggle. We spoke with the representatives of the municipality as well as with the deputies Avihu Han and Sharit Golan Steinberg, who told us that the issue is being addressed. We asked for a solution Temporary, but in the meantime we have not been granted a reduction in the inspectors' patrols and have been granted a negative answer.
Residents of Carmelia, come to Neve David, here everything is allowed and no fines are handed out: dogs are loose, there is no enforcement of feces collection despite the signs, there is no dog park because the whole neighborhood looks like one dog park.
Until dog parks are established, they are a litter box full of fleas. Why not plant grass in the dog parks too?
Dog owners should pick up after their dogs. But it won't hurt the animal haters of all kinds to look where they're going, and if they don't raise their noses so high they'll also be able to avoid stepping on a mine.
Shame on you dog owners, you littered all the streets of Haifa, disgusting when you just go out into the streets, the sickening smell of pee and piles of excrement. A drop of responsibility, keep it clean.
And to the Haifa municipality, I am begging you to give meetings.
So don't keep dogs.
Inspectors who steal in the name of the law!
Well done!
An important struggle!
We are tired of our good dogs being treated like monsters, and if there is at least no deep understanding that they want to be a little free, then they should establish proper gardens, it is impossible that in a city like Haifa this thing does not exist.
Until then, we will continue to take our dog to the woods, to the sea, and in some areas in the city, as free as a human because he deserves not to be tied up all day on a leash with a collar around his neck!
In the meantime, you need to reach a time sharing agreement. Dogs will be able to roam freely in playgrounds from 20:00 to 23:00 without the threat of inspectors. The municipality knows how to reach such agreements, it is a fact, the even sidewalk of Bar Giora Street on which cars with 4 wheels are parked on the sidewalk and for over six months have not received reports, even though parking inspectors come to the area and give a report to a specific car that is blocking access to a further passage. In practice, Bar Giora Street became a street with only one sidewalk for the entire length of the street.
In the same vein, the children's playgrounds, and public lawns such as the Medatek can be used by the dogs during the hours when there are no children in the playground, and there are no visitors to the Medatek. You have to consider the population of dogs who are both our best friends and keep us out of trouble.
It is very good that they will be fined. What is it that there are no parks for dogs? It doesn't mean that you shouldn't clean up after the dog that did on the sidewalk and besides that people will stop having three dogs all kinds of idlers walking around with the dogs all day go to work so you won't have time to deal with nonsense.
A dog is a nice thing and is man's best friend but when the dog becomes a nuisance it is no longer nice. The owner does not collect his excrement in the street, he threatens passers-by when he is without a barrier and is scary.
I don't take dogs to the gardens. The gardens are a source of diseases. I prefer to walk with them around the moshav and collect their needs and that they all stay healthy. It should be noted that I have many dogs and I have to go out with them in shifts. Recently bad people left 2 dogs in my yard
Without a chip and I decided to keep them with me
is also
The municipality of Haifa loots and steals from the residents because there is a deficit in the coffers
As a dog owner, and a mother of 3 children, I wish the dog owners would only let the dogs run and release energy, the facilities in all the gardens in Kabir and Carmelia are filthy with urine and feces, full of diseases, stench and of course now with the Nile fever. They finally put an end to the prank of turning public parks for children into dog parks after 20:00 p.m. It doesn't make sense, there are no dog parks, go to the woods there is no shortage in the area, go down to the sea or just do some sports with the dog. Only crying. As a mother for over 12 years in the area, finally some awareness and help from the municipality on the subject
Read the article in Hai Pa about the increase in salaries in the municipality, about the increase in property tax by high percentages, they will have a great appetite to enrich the coffers. It is time for you to make a demonstration because we are also tired of inspectors who lie with a determined forehead and shame the uniforms. Shame on the Haifa municipality. Come out and demonstrate.
Disgust all the owners, these dogs shit everywhere, don't clean everything, stinks, attracts flies. Let us screw up at your house, flush it down the toilet.
Let's also talk about dog owners, including for sure those who complain in the article, who do not pick up their dogs' feces, and all of Carmelia is full of dog poop on every sidewalk, on every step, near the supermarket in Carmelia, people regularly tie up dogs and there is shit that no one cleans up.
The dog owners come with demands first of all that they keep the environment clean where they hang out with dogs. Pick up your dogs poo, we don't have to put up with that shit.
I understand that after a dog is released in a dog park, the dog defecates and the owner does not come to pick it up, humans no longer have the option of not stepping on the dogs' defecation.
I walk on sidewalks that are full of both dog urine and dog feces.
Why do dog owners think it is their right to make other people's lives miserable?
The dog parks are becoming a nuisance. The dogs bark and this continues throughout the day and shits and then there is a stench when the dog owners leave the garden without cleaning. People come at unreasonable hours with their dogs, even very early in the morning.
Just not suitable in residential neighborhoods. Make dog parks, for example, in the zoo in the kindergarten.
Breeding dogs in small residential apartments when the dog barks on the balcony for many hours is also a serious nuisance to the neighbors. Maybe instead of demanding dog parks, we should reduce the breeding of dogs and those who want dogs and other animals to move to a house with a yard? Raising dogs in small apartments in the city is not particularly suitable in buildings with people who are also allergic and there are children who are afraid of big barking dogs
Friendly suggestion, move to another neighborhood with your own garden.
You also have a car, take the dogs to the forest in the wild and let them go, why do you insist on the neighborhoods, wild pigs are enough for us.
People of your type I want to denounce them, they say the right thing. Those who hate animals should also hate humans. Those who are willing to hurt a helpless animal have no problem hurting a person.
I would love to join the protest also in the Kiryat Eliyahu neighborhood there is no dog park and for elderly people and/or with difficulty walking it is difficult to get to the parks in Kiryat Eliezer and Bat Galim
In every estate there is no garden at all. Not in Kiryat Safar D Jezreeli Margalit Yarkon Shad Handev Moriah Horev Estate Sderot Sinai Litahis Nachshon. So the time has come there are a lot of dogs and we walk on the sidewalks and roads because there is nowhere to go with the dogs. And they run away from the pigs. The time has come.
This is really persecution and harassment of the dog owners, I also experienced it personally.
I pray for the rehabilitation of a dog owner who is also a lawyer and will file a class action lawsuit against the municipality
I pray for the day I can walk on the sidewalk and look ahead.
Nowadays if I don't look down I will step on what the dog owner doesn't want to pick up and throw away.
I am of course in favor of creating dog parks.
It was stated in the article that the playgrounds have become "toilets" for dogs, the sidewalks are also full of dog excrement, for this the dog owners should be fined, who do not take care to collect the excrement and I have stepped on it more than once.
On the one hand the municipality encourages the adoption of dogs, on the other hand it does not provide areas for their benefit. There was an attempt to initiate the establishment of a garden about two years ago in collaboration with Nir Shuver. A public consultation with the residents took place, a place was chosen and that was it. That's where it got stuck. During the elections, they quickly made several gardens to shut up mouths.
What do you expect a mayor who doesn't like animals to do?! I despise him, I hope this is his last candidacy, amen
I think a lot. There was a dog park in Gan Yiftach under a temporary arrangement with the municipality. A multi-age, multi-religious and multinational community grew. For some people this is the only interaction they have with other people during their day
A model for Jewish-Arab coexistence.
The community avoids coming because of the fines.
There are temporary solutions. All that is required is mental flexibility and openness
They know how to cry, but they walk with dogs without a barrier, loose (don't worry, he doesn't bite, but just in case), they don't pick up needs. All of the above should be enforced first
I have an old little dog that has never bitten anyone in its life,
Put a barrier on him?
The most incomprehensible is the fact that for many years dog owners have been meeting in playgrounds late in the evening when there are no children or parents in the parks.
Until two months ago it didn't bother anyone. Now it looks like a pure economic threat. The owners of the dogs continue to meet with the tied dogs and the livelihood for the municipality is over.
Regarding the annual dog fee, what do we get in return? Nothing and nothing. Net fine and nothing more.