As a dog lover living here in Prince Edward County, I feel so fortunate that we have a wonderful off-leash dog park facility in Delhi Park to bring our dogs to.

My companion dog, Judy, and I are regular attendees at our park and look forward daily to joining other local dog owners from across the county who enjoy bringing their dogs to a safe, fence-enclosed exercise and play environment.

Unfortunately, this winter, like every winter since the park first opened, the County plows continue to ignore the area leading to the dog park for any required winter maintenance. This is a real baffler since the plows routinely do a good job of clearing the snow and ice on the roadway leading into Delhi Park, but, mysteriously, never seem to travel beyond the parking lot adjacent to the children’s play area. For some inexplicable reason, the remaining roadway leading to the dog park’s designated parking area, as well as the pathway leading to the dog park entry gate, is continuously ignored.

The end result means a growing number of residents are simply unable to safely access the park during the winter months because of gradual snow and ice build-ups on the pathway leading to the park.

Allow me to remind the folks at Shire Hall we live in a community with a growing senior population — a number of whom are also passionate dog owners.

Speaking as one of those seniors, and one with significant mobility challenges, the absence of snow removal means that a growing number of us must reluctantly abandon our dog park until the warmer weather returns.

To our local politicians: This is an easy fix. Do the right thing and issue instructions to implement effective snow cleaning on the road and pathway to the dog park as soon as possible — before someone takes a nasty fall or suffers an even more serious injury.

Gay Halpenny