Dog owners at a popular Perth dog park are angry council rangers have removed a communal dog bowl after a mystery resident complained it was a drowning hazard.
The bowl was recently removed from Britannia Road Reserve in Mount Hawthorn by the City of Vincent and replaced with a sign saying it had been taken away due to public safety concerns.
The park is a dog exercise area and social meeting point for many locals whose pets use the bowl to have a drink and cool down.
Since being erected, the council sign has been vandalised with the word 'tossers', but City of Vincent mayor John Carey said the bowl was a public liability and would be replaced by the council with a safe drinking solution.
Residents, however, have complained the council had over-reacted to the situation, with replacement bowls being found in bins.
One woman claimed she began taking her own bowl to the park after she noticed the communal bowl was missing, only to have a ranger try to confiscate it as she placed her dogs in her car.
She said she was dreading the summer heat if dogs at the park could not cool down, while another woman, Zoe Elizabeth, questioned the council's decision.
"So, the person who wrote to the council is probably concerned about their children - very young children I assume," she said.
"The dog park is a public place.
"I'm pretty sure it's their responsibility to be supervising their kids, right? They should be extra careful when they visit rivers or beaches.
"What is happening to the world!"
Mr Carey personally met with people at the park earlier this month to try and resolve the issue.
"What's happened is a resident has put in a complaint about a shell water bowl and it being a risk to children... given the public liability and potential risk, council had to remove it," he said.
"I met down with about 15 dog owners to look at what alternative solutions we can do to allow dogs to cool themselves down."
A possible solution touted by the council is a shower above a structure with a draining system.
"Hopefully we can do it sooner rather than later, I know it's coming into the hot months, I'm a dog owner myself," Mr Carey said.
"We're trying to take a common sense approach to this."
According to KidSafe's WA website, a child can drown in as little as a few centimetres of water within 20 seconds.
"Drowning often happens quickly and silently," the website said.
"Children can drown in as little as a few centimetres of water, meaning that toddler pools, backyard ponds, nappy buckets, bathtubs, buckets of water and even pets drinking bowls must be recognised as potential drowning hazards."
