My name is Benni - I've been living on the Finglas Road since 2007 and I have a very lovely Lurcher called Leo. I recently spent some time working and living in Berlin and during my time there it really struck me how badly served we are as dog owners by the lack of facilities or a safe, fenced / enclosed dog park to let our dogs off leash in a controlled space in my local area of Finglas / Glasnevin / Drumcondra / Phibsboro / Cabra. 

In Berlin there are designated dog parks in every single neighbourhood - the closest to me is St Anne's Park which is a 2 hour walk. Yet right beside us is Tolka Valley Park - a huge green space with ample opportunity for an enclosed area for dog owners to exercise and socialise pets - dog parks also encourages responsible pet ownership, community responsibility and social connections. There are two football pitches in the green fields and a dog park could easily be hosted outside of these designated sport areas so it wouldn't involve disturbing any of the (very small) amount of formal use that the park gets. 

I've started to contact local representatives in the area, as well as Dublin City Council - but I think delivering a petition with some signatures would make a big difference in helping to make this happen and creating an amazing resource for local dog owners... and the dogs themselves! :)