'This is our livelihood': Commercial dog walkers banned from Toronto park

A group of commercial dog walkers are voicing their frustration with a new policy that bans them from operating at a downtown Toronto dog park, saying their livelihoods are at stake.

Toronto’s city council adopted the ban on June 26 after Councillor Dianne Saxe brought forward resident complaints about the “heavy use” of Ramsden Park, as well as “noise, disturbance and parking conflicts.”

The ban came into effect officially last week when the city posted signs at the park about the rule, and in response commercial dog walkers launched a petition calling for a reversal.

“What about the tennis courts? What about kids playing? What about picnics, what about the general affairs that happen in the park all the time? You can't shut the noise out when you live in a busy city like this,” commercial dog walker Jenn Reck told NEWSTALK 1010’s Moore in the Morning Thursday. “Parks in general in Toronto are noisy affairs.”

More than 500 people have already signed the petition that will be delivered to the City of Toronto for consideration. The petition is advising the city to instead implement a designated time limit for commercial dog walkers, between 11 a.m. and 3 p.m., which is when the park is generally used by the group.

“This time frame aligns with current usage patterns and minimizes potential disturbances to nearby residents during peak hours,” the petition states. “We believe this compromise will address noise concerns while ensuring continued access for the many local dogs and dog walkers who rely on this essential facility.”

The ban applies only to commercial dog walkers. Commercial dog walkers are still allowed to walk their dogs through the park if they are on a leash at all times, and not in the off-leash area.

Councillor Dianne Saxe told CTV News Toronto on Friday that when the off-leash dog area was created, residents were promised that noise and other impacts would be monitored and the use of the dog park adjusted accordingly.

“They told me that no such monitoring occurred and that commercial dog walkers have a material adverse impact on the noise,” she added. “One resident told me that her ability to keep her home depends on renting apartments in her home, and that she can’t keep tenants because of the barking.”

“We will now have an opportunity to see the impact while commercial dog walkers are excluded from the off leash dog area.”

Reck said that commercial dog walkers have been using the park for 25 years, and they have no where else to go in the community.

“They haven't come up with an alternate plan. There's no future plan to build another dog park. There are no spaces at all in that neighborhood that we can utilize,” she said. “We are the proxies to our clients in that neighborhood. So who's to say who should be able to bring the neighborhood's dogs to their own neighborhood park? Were hired to do that job, and we're not even allowed to bring the neighborhood's dogs there.”

“To be targeted like this, like this is our livelihood. We use these spaces for our livelihood and to assist the clients who hire us to take care of their animals, and now we don't have a place to go.”

The city has inconsistent rules for off-leash dog area, Saxe said, adding that she made a motion at council asking for parks and recreation to develop a criteria for making a decision for all off-leash dog areas.

“I hope to see a report back in the next six months. In the interim, at the request of the neighbours, commercial dog walkers are not permitted at Ramsden Park.”