I am 77 years old and I have a registered Assistance dog. Twice, in two weeks, I have had to rescue my dog from being carried away and drowning in the Richmond River off the ONLY ‘unrestrained’ dog beach in Ballina. The beach is short, has very little flat space for ball chasing and is so heavily populated with dogs it engenders aggression.
At low tide, at waters edge, there is an immediate two metre drop. And a very strong current.
Not more than 300 metres away is Lighthouse Beach, which, at low tide is approximately 50,000m2, with rarely more than a dozen people on it. Yet dogs have to be restrained there!
Lennox Head has a long, very wide dog beach, and Byron has two of similar size. Ballina Council, however, has previously refused to de-restrict any of the several suitable and sparsely used beaches for dogs. I’m advised that the Council has a number of anti-dog members.
More than 40 per cent of households in this region have dogs. A very large voting block. Many dog owners want change.
I suggest to Ballina dog-owning residents that you lobby the prospective candidates for the upcoming election, and vote only for those who will change this outdated, discriminating and restrictive situation.
For four decades The Echo has printed the stories some people loved, some people hated, and some pretended not to read. If you want us to keep telling the truth, the real truth, not the sugar-coated version. We’ll need your support to keep the presses rolling. 
