Post by Wolfie on Sept 5, 2008 1:01:15 GMT -5
A DOG-HATER is believed responsible for fake posters warning that sharks are attacking dogs in the Leichhardt area.
The posters, on poles at Snails Bay at Birchgrove Park, read: "Last Monday our beloved Trixie was taken by a shark in water just off the beach here. There was nothing we could do to save her."
But local dog lovers believe the posters are a vigilante's attempt to dissuade owners from walking their pets in the area.
The dog-war escalated last week when a second series of posters was sighted alerting walkers to the hoax.
"Beware of humans in dogs' clothing," the second poster read.
Dog-walking space has been a source of bitter dispute among the residents, with Leichhardt Council being forced to regulate where dogs can be walked on and off their leashes.
They are permitted to run freely, off leashes, on the sand at Snails Bay.
A spokesman yesterday said Council had information that the signs were a hoax, but would not be investigating the source.
"Our rangers haven't seen any signs of shark attack, they haven't heard of any such incident," he said.
"The best information we have is that this is a hoax."
He said the issue of dogs in the area "has been a passionate one," but the council had no concerns about dogs in the area.
Meanwhile local residents continued to allow their dogs to splash around in the bay waters yesterday, saying they had no worries about sharks in the area.
A number of residents, who walk their dogs daily at the park and are familiar with most of the other hounds that use the facility, said they had never heard of a dog named "Trixie".
"(The posters) sounded so pathetic, so pitious, that one had to suspect the author immediately of overdoing it bit," one resident said yesterday.
"It struck me straightaway.
"We have never heard of a dog being taken by a shark around here.
"We believe it's just someone who hates dogs and doesn't want to have dogs running free on the beach, and thinks he has come up with a cunning ruse to scare their owners away."
Source
The posters, on poles at Snails Bay at Birchgrove Park, read: "Last Monday our beloved Trixie was taken by a shark in water just off the beach here. There was nothing we could do to save her."
But local dog lovers believe the posters are a vigilante's attempt to dissuade owners from walking their pets in the area.
The dog-war escalated last week when a second series of posters was sighted alerting walkers to the hoax.
"Beware of humans in dogs' clothing," the second poster read.
Dog-walking space has been a source of bitter dispute among the residents, with Leichhardt Council being forced to regulate where dogs can be walked on and off their leashes.
They are permitted to run freely, off leashes, on the sand at Snails Bay.
A spokesman yesterday said Council had information that the signs were a hoax, but would not be investigating the source.
"Our rangers haven't seen any signs of shark attack, they haven't heard of any such incident," he said.
"The best information we have is that this is a hoax."
He said the issue of dogs in the area "has been a passionate one," but the council had no concerns about dogs in the area.
Meanwhile local residents continued to allow their dogs to splash around in the bay waters yesterday, saying they had no worries about sharks in the area.
A number of residents, who walk their dogs daily at the park and are familiar with most of the other hounds that use the facility, said they had never heard of a dog named "Trixie".
"(The posters) sounded so pathetic, so pitious, that one had to suspect the author immediately of overdoing it bit," one resident said yesterday.
"It struck me straightaway.
"We have never heard of a dog being taken by a shark around here.
"We believe it's just someone who hates dogs and doesn't want to have dogs running free on the beach, and thinks he has come up with a cunning ruse to scare their owners away."
Source
