Ocean Grove Primary School Year 6 student Sadie Dallman has started up a dog toy library in her home town.
The library, at Blue Waters Lake park in Ocean Grove, is stocked with toys that pooches can play with and are returned so that other canines have fun.
The idea came about through 11-year-old Sadie’s Rotary Community Project and the toys, such as balls, tug toys, frisbees and throw sticks, were donated by Petstock Ocean Grove.
The mantra of the dog toy library is ‘Borrow, play, return’.
“I came up with this idea because as a dog owner myself I know the struggles of forgetting to bring a toy or ball to the park,” Sadie said.
“My dog Goldie always wants to play ball, now we can go there anytime and she loves it. This library is full of fun toys that both you and your dog can play with together.
“I’d seen one down at the beach and I know that lots of dog owners come down to Blue Waters Park.”
The dog toy library has had a fantastic response with locals flooding social media with compliments for the resourceful youngster.
“I did not expect that, I thought I’d put it up on Facebook and then it would just be up there for people to see,” Sadie said.
“I saw a girl go grab a toy and play with it with her dog and the the toys have been used, there’s a bit of mud on them and stuff
‘It makes me feel really good because it’s quite hidden away so it’s good that people have noticed it.”
Even Goldie gets to play with the toys.
“We’ve taken her there basically every day and she knows where we’re going and she’s very excited about it,” Sadie said.
