A Capital Letter: No, I don’t want your dog on the beach

I don’t want to be spending my summer days dodging dogs and their poo on Wellington’s most iconic beach just so canines can “enjoy the water during the warmer months”.

Wellington City Council is consulting
on whether to allow dogs off the leash on Oriental Bay beach between November and April during off-peak hours, so before 10am and after 7pm.

Currently, they are not allowed on the beach at all during these months.

“Dog owners appreciate this beach for its convenient proximity to the city centre and its beautiful setting,” council documents say.

Well, guess what? People also appreciate this beach for the same reasons.

Oriental Bay is one of the things that makes Wellington so special. It’s within walking distance for city workers who flock to the beach for an after-work dip and a picnic dinner.

Dogs take over small beaches like the ones in the capital when they are allowed off-leash.

For example, one time at Lyall Bay I was sunbathing on my towel with my bag next to me. A dog raced up to my group, peed on my belongings, and immediately took off again.

There was no acknowledgement from the owner of what their dog had done and I was left to wash off what I could in the waves. I was furious.

I’m all too familiar with swerving past dogs racing across the sand at my local beach at Worser Bay. I always feel like I am the one in the way.

The absolute worst experience is setting up camp for a day by the sea to find you’ve put your towel on top of dog poo.

Which brings me to another gripe. Never in my life have I lived in a suburb with so much dog poo on the footpath.

I live in Miramar and often walk to Seatoun and up to Scorching Bay. It’s an affluent area covered in dog poo.

You actually have to constantly check the footpath to avoid it – I’m not exaggerating.

The other day there was a sizeable pool of dog vomit on the path just across from our house that I almost walked through. It sat there roasting in the sun for days.

I actually despair over people’s inability to clean up after their dogs who are often referred to as their fur babies.

But people don’t let their actual babies defecate on the street and leave it there, do they?!

People shouldn’t be allowed to own dogs if they cannot take responsibility for them, especially since dog ownership is on the rise.

Wellington has a 1:16 dog-to-people ratio with almost 16,000 dogs in the register.

Dog registrations have increased by 39 per cent in the capital in the past seven years.

Council research says this surge in numbers can be attributed to the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, which reshaped work arrangements for many and made caring for dogs more convenient.

Wellington City councillor Iona Pannett goes to great lengths to clean up after her toy cavoodle and löwchen when they are out for a walk.

Pannett pours a bottle of water over dog pee. As for poo, Pannett says: “Generally if dogs are pooing correctly, it shouldn’t be too messy”.

She scrubs the pavement with an old toothbrush if that’s not the case.

Pannett says toilet paper is more environmentally friendly than plastic bags and she tries to flush dog poo down the toilet after the council’s former chief engineer advised that was better than putting it through the rubbish system.

I wouldn’t expect people to go this far, but it’s nice to know someone cares.

Surprisingly, dog complaints relating to “fouling” have trended down over recent years – from 55 in 2018/19 to 17 in 2022/23.

The tricky thing is, you really have to catch a dog and its owner in the act for a complaint to go anywhere.

Otherwise, as Wellington City Council public health operations team leader Jude Austin puts it, it’s very difficult to know which dog has done it.

“What is best is actually a photo of the incident,” Austin told me.

“You’d be surprised what our animal control officers can do with one photo. Our register holds the breed of a dog, all the different colours of the dog’s coat, and also we know the area in which a particular dog lives.”

You can be fined $300 for not cleaning up after your dog. The council is also consulting on whether to make the failure to carry effective means to remove and dispose of dog faeces a fineable offence.

Anyway, I should say, I’m actually a dog person. I grew up with a boxer and my parents now have two French bulldogs which I’m obsessed with.

But I don’t think dogs should rule our beaches and I’m really starting to get resentful towards owners who don’t clean up after their pets.

Georgina Campbell is a Wellington-based reporter who has a particular interest in local government, transport, and seismic issues. She joined the Herald in 2019 after working as a broadcast journalist.