Taipei City Goverment

This summer is especially hot! The Taipei City Animal Protection Office (APO) has opened the pool at the Yingfeng Dog Park’s Large Dog Area for dogs to cool off in the summer heat, starting from July 1 to September 30, 2019.

Starting today, the water changing frequency will be altered from 3 times every week to every morning, and the pool will be drained or soaked in disinfectant for 2 days every week for sterilization purposes and to maintain the quality of the pool. The APO urges pet owners to monitor their dogs’ activities and pick up after them. Please do not let your dog urinate or defecate in the pool in order not to infringe other pet owners’ rights to use the facility.

According to the agency, many citizens have submitted recommendations recently to improve the facilities at dog parks. In particular, in light of hiking temperatures, many people have yearned for a swimming pool or pool (a common feature in overseas dog parks) for their dogs to cool off in summer, and so a Large Dog Area Pool was built for the 2018 Yingfeng Dog Park Overhaul Project. Furthermore, considering the riverside park’s flood-prevention safety and maintenance management, the pool is cleaned manually, and the water is replaced on a regular basis with fresh water from the nearby water supply pipe, thereby ensuring safe water quality.

As soon as the pool was completed, pet owners were enquiring about the opening hours. By taking the season and climatic conditions into consideration, the pool will be open from July to September. Originally, cleaning of the pool and water replacement was scheduled for Friday and Sunday every week, and the water was to be replaced 3 times per week, but in order to reinforce hygiene management and prevent communicable diseases, the water is now replaced every day, and the pool will be either drained and exposed to the sun or immersed in disinfectant for sterilization purposes for 2 days every week. The relevant measures taken to maintain the pool will be adjusted based on the public’s feedback, and relevant regulations will be posted in the park.

The APO appeals to pet owners to keep an eye on their dogs in the dog park and dog run area. Be a responsible citizen and pick up after your dog to help maintain the tidiness and hygiene of public facilities. The pet owner is responsible for accompanying and monitoring his dog while the pet is playing in the pool to prevent accidents from occurring. Dogs with infectious diseases, skin problems, parasites, mange, sores or wounds should not be allowed into the pool to protect other dogs from becoming infected. The pool water is not drinkable; therefore pet owners should prepare sufficient drinking water for their dog. It is also advised to shower the dog before and after going into the pool thoroughly to prevent it from ingesting the pool water while licking its fur and becoming ill.

The APO elaborated that the in light of potential heavy downpour caused by Typhoon Lekima’s tropical depression and for safety reasons, Yingfeng Dog Park will implement flood prevention measures by removing the fence on August 8 and draining the pool in the Large Dog Area. After the lifting of typhoon warning, the park is scheduled for reopening before August 14 after it is declared safe to do so.