One dog owner has been left feeling forgotten by City of Ballarat after his furry friend allegedly had its paw slashed.
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Brett Burge was walking his greyhound/ridgeback Bob through Victoria Park in between Military Drive and Poplar Avenue when they got a nasty surprise.
Bob sliced his foot on a sliver of aluminium from a can that had allegedly been run over during the mowing of the lawns at Victoria Park.
After being rushed to the vet, Mr Burge was faced with a $600 bill to get his mate stitched up.
“We just wanted to get him back to full health,” he said.
“He was in a fair bit of pain, it’s definitely not something we expected to run into on our morning stroll.”
The maintenance and cleaning of Victoria Park is the responsibility of the City of Ballarat, however when Mr Burge approached them for compensation for his vet bill, they told him he would receive no such payment.
“I was shocked. I wasn’t asking for the world, I was just asking to be reimbursed for the bill I had to pay because their park wasn’t clean.”
He and his wife have been saving as their daughter is about to enter high school, so a $600 bill has hit close to his heart.
According to Mr Burge, after much back-and-forth with council he was told the cleaning of the debris as a result of mowing was the responsibility of the contractors who conducted the mowing.
If a child cut their foot I'm sure it'd be a different story, our dog is like our child
- Newington resident/dog owner Brett Burge
The Courier asked the City of Ballarat, which is responsible for the cleaning of the park, what the correct course of action would be if someone was injured in a situation like this.
“The City of Ballarat undertakes significant maintenance work across Victoria Park to try and ensure there is no rubbish in the 300-acre area,” City of Ballarat Infrastructure and Environment Director Terry Demeo said in a statement.
“However, we do rely on the public to be responsible and not litter the park as well.”
Mr Burge isn’t holding a grudge, but wants council to take action to avoid a family taking an unwanted trip to the hospital.
“Plain and simple the park is never cleaned, there’s constantly glass and cans everywhere,” he said.
“It’s only a matter of time until this happens to somebody’s child.”