One of OiP’s resident canine’s Flynn gives his take on Perth’s doggy park scene.
I know you know. There are days when, even though you’ve been looking at the same bit of backyard for hours, the thought of going for a walk around the same old paths and sniffing the same old arses is enough to make you want to hide in your kennel (well, nearly).
But it doesn’t have to be that way!
I’m fortunate enough to have humans who are pretty good at taking me out to new and exciting places – so if your two legged can openers need some inspiration, tell them to read on..
If water sports are your thing (and no boys, I don’t mean peeing on poles), then there’s a bunch of beaches in Perth just short car ride away from wherever your territory may be. Get to them early before the wind kicks in and blows sand in your eyes. Oh, and don’t drink out of the ocean.
Trust me.
South Beach is awesome – fair bit of space to play and the local humans are super friendly. Just a little further north, Leighton’s similarly good, and the benefit of these two is that you can go swimming without getting your fur all messed up in big waves.
Course, if you don’t mind playing in big waves, then there’s fun to be had further north – my pick of the bunch would be Scarborough and South City for the sheer size of the play areas. A little ears up for you though – if you go to South City, it borders Swanbourne, so if you’ve got boy humans in tow, keep them away from the dunes, lest they get distracted.
If you and your two-leggers prefer a more urbane outing, then there’s a couple of city parks well worth a visit. Robertson Park is in Northbridge, at the end of Brisbane Street. It features big grassy spaces to run around in, big shady trees, and even a permanent drinking bowl under one of the taps. It’s particularly busy about the time when all the humans get home from that ‘work’ thing they go off and do. I’m not sure who enjoys the socialising more – the humans, or us!
Another city park with its very own little community of humans and puppies is Forest Park, on the corner of Walcott and Lord Streets. It’s not a locale I’m really familiar with, but my mate Oscar and his humans are always raving about it, so go see for yourself.
However, if what you’re really wanting is to get back to nature, away from all that manicured grass under your paws, then I have two words for you – Whistlepipe Gully. It runs between Orange Valley Rd, Kalamunda and Lewis Rd, Forrestfield and takes about an hour or so to do the round trip. (If your humans are an unfit bunch, start at the Lewis Road end – that way it’s downhill on the way back!) There is lots of bush, and a creek with water in it year round. Best of all, the humans aren’t required to stay close on the end of a leash, so you can go poking about in the bush or the creek all by yourself.
If that sounds a little too wild for you, then Riverside Gardens at the end of King William Street in Bayswater is a good compromise. There’s HUGE tracts of grass to run around on, and a little beach thing where the Swan river laps at the shore. Just don’t venture on over to the other side of the path into the bird sanctuary. As much fun as we all know it is to chase birds, these ones are ‘special’ for some reason, so strictly out of bounds.
Nuff to keep you going? I reckon!
So rip out this article, drop it at their feet, do whatever you gotta do to make them say ‘walkies!’ and enjoy.
