Local services
The completed project was presented at an on-site press conference by Edina Szilágyi, local government representative and animal protection officer, and György Korbeák, Dániel Barcza and Sándor Szűcs, local government representatives, on the 20th of December 2024.
According to Edina Szilágyi, the canine community has been waiting for this day for a long time. It was a well-done and beneficial facility. She thanked the Common Cause for Animal Welfare Foundation for their support, without which it would have been much more challenging to realise this investment. She said the city will have two dog runs almost simultaneously on Lehel Street and the Wesselényi housing estate. The final touches are being put on the facility’s construction at the latter site, which will be completed in a few weeks.
She expressed the hope that members of the dog community and the residents will be satisfied with the dog run on Lehel Street. Dog owners can exercise their pets safely without disturbing nearby residents. She pointed out that the city council plans to set up more dog runs in the future, but the possible locations will have to be carefully assessed and considered. To this end, the municipal representatives of the respective residential areas will be asked for their help and suggestions for the people living there. The aim is to find sites that are suitable for all.
Sándor Szűcs, municipal councillor, said that the construction of the dog run on Lehel Street started in June 2024 with the submission of a tender. The Common Cause for Animal Protection Foundation supported the project. The costs of the construction of the dog run in Lehel Street, and the dog run in the Wesselényi housing estate are estimated at 10-10 million HUF each. For the Lehel Street facility, it was essential to ensure easy and quick access from both the Újkert and Sestakert areas while at the same time keeping the facility at a sufficient distance from residential buildings so as not to disturb the peace of the residents. The fence of the dog run is one and a half metres high, and a locked gate ensures easy entry and exit. There are benches, drinking fountains and dog waste bins to ensure a comfortable stay. Sándor Szűcs also mentioned that the number of pet owners had been steadily increasing in recent years, with surveys showing that 70-71 percent of Hungarian households have a dog, cat or both. As the number of pet owners increases, so do the problems associated with pet ownership. One such issue is that dogs’ need for exercise cannot be met within the property, so the nearly 1,100 square metre dog run on Lehel Street is an excellent development.
György Korbeák, a local government representative, said that he and two other MPs had successfully implemented the project with the city’s and the foundation’s help. On the background, he said that they had agreed with Mayor László Papp, local councillor Edina Szilágyi and representatives of the local dog society that the city would like to provide space for a dog run this year. György Korbeák referred back to Sándor Szűcs’ statement that the facility needed to be far enough away from prefabricated houses but close to the comfort zone of dog owners. That is why this area was chosen, because it meets these criteria, as well as those of the Green City Programme. He thanked the city administration and the animal protection officer for creating this opportunity, the staff of Dekert Ltd. for the construction work, and recommended that dog owners use the facility while at the same time protecting it and paying attention to its condition. György Korbeák also spoke in general terms about the facility handover, saying that the town’s residents can confidently turn to their local government representatives when they have a problem affecting their lives. They will find a solution to the problem, if not immediately, then one that will reassure everyone – for example, in the form of developments such as this.
Source and photo credit: debrecen.hu
