Rollo, a three-year-old Maltese shih tzu, has limited space in his backyard to run around or play fetch.

The Warrnambool pooch used to play in the city’s only enclosed off-leash area at Harris Street Reserve – until he fell into a large hole and tore his cruciate ligament. 

Rollo’s owner Stacey Knowles said the park was poorly maintained with several holes and broken fences. 

President of Warrnambool Dog Obedience Training School Donna James said the enclosed area was established for puppy school and agility training.

“It’s not suitable as an open park, considering the amount of people and dogs we have in this town,” she said. 

“It’s also dangerous for the puppies training there because we can’t keep track of the random dogs and whether or not they’ve been vaccinated.” 

Warrnambool resident Ann Vickery has launched a campaign calling for a new purpose-built park.

She has applied for funding through a state government community grants initiative Pick My Project, and has been working with Warrnambool City Council to find a suitable piece of land.

“Council has been really supportive of the idea and have suggested three potential blocks of land, which will soon be released for community consultation,” she said. 

“If our funding application is successful, the state government will provide us with the money, council will put up the land and we will have 12 months to put everything in place.” 

Ms Vickery said the off-leash park was a community-led project that would help promote tourism in the region.

“We’ve got three caravan parks here that allow dogs to stay overnight, but don’t let them run around,” she said. 

“Tourists travelling between Geelong and Mt Gambier will be able to stop off, have lunch and let their dogs have a run.

“The Warrnambool Men’s Shed have also offered to help out by building agility equipment for the dogs and tables and chairs for their owners. It’s a whole community project.” 

Ms Knowles said she was excited by the plan for a potential new park.

“When you take your dog out for a run, you see straight away how happy they are,” she said. 

“Especially for us, we live on such a small block and Rollo just wants to run.”

A spokesman for Warrnambool City Council said it was supportive of the community-led project.

“We will shortly be surveying the community to determine the best location for an off-lead dog park,” he said.