Remuera community concerned over public dog bowls

Remuera has added dog bowls to its decor, but concern has been raised about whether this is actually safe for the canines.

Russian local business owner Alex Trushko, fears there is a potential for diseases to spread from one dog to another using the public dog bowls.

Anexa vet, Vivienne Weck, says “there’s always a small risk of spreading illnesses from one dog to another, but dogs drink all kinds of things.”

She personally wouldn’t stop her dogs from drinking from them; she believes the idea is great, if they’re cleaned out once a day.

The Remuera Business Association (RBA) has provided the public dog bowls for over two years now, along with poop bags on the sidewalks.

The dog bowls are placed around high-traffic walking routes, such as outside of cafes or hairdressers, as the businesses oversee the filling of the bowls themselves.

The RBA has been gaining a percentage of business owners and landlords' rates to fund their marketing strategies and cleanliness.

They used to be funded by the Auckland council until they became a BID, a Business Improvement District, so they now get quarterly funding from the rate payers.

Natalie Wright is the business manager of the RBA and has been giving these dog bowls out to store owners.

“People seem to really like them; it’s something a little gimmicky without being too in your face,” she says.

Mrs Wright believes Remuera is very proactive when it comes to cleanliness and their aesthetics, which is why it’s a class above everyone else.

The RBA has recently taken their dog bowls away to update them to the Remuera colours, but have returned them within the last couple of months.

The dog bowls have since been regularly used by the community and it is suggested to be cleaned at least once a day.

Follow this link to hear more from Natalie Wright about RBA dog bowls - Who runs Remuera?