Charmaine hits the News again featured
in the Sun Weekly's Luxurious Lifestyle
Special Feature.

Daily Telegraph 19th May 2003
Charmaine Bright and
Chrystelle her Standard Poodle
 

Sun Herald Life Magazine 28.10.08


Sun Weekly 24th May 2007
Australian Certified Master Groomer

Dog Day Afternoon Central Coast Express Advocate - Feb 21, 2001

Residents flocked to Avoca Beach, NSW to protest the banning of dogs on beaches.
(Charmaine is in front holding green poodle)
 

Fido's Freedom Rally at Avoca Beach on Sunday attracted more than 400 people who protested plans by Gosford Council to ban dogs from most beaches. Organised by newly-formed Central Coast Beach Access Reform Coalition, the rally was designed to inform residents of council's proposal and gather support to fight it's approval.

"By any measure, the event was a great success in letting the community and council know how dog owners feel about council's controversial plan," coalition founder Rosalind Bonser said. "A visual display board at the rally helped the community to further understand the current problems and why the council's proposal is not acceptable." She said 180 new members joined the coalition during the rally and more than 400 signatures were collected for petitions and protest letters.

 "Under the new proposal, seven dog exercise areas are being axed," Ms Bonser said. "That's almost one-third of the dog exercise areas being taken away at a time when the population is increasing." She said the proposal did not tackle the real issues. "The council must help dog owners to do the right thing by providing signs and bins." she said. "The boundaries of the dog exercise area need to be marked with practical and informative signs that tell the whole community where the boundaries are and the time restrictions for the beach dog exercise areas." She said it was then up to council to enforce the laws.

 "The council needs to educate and then enforce," Ms Bonser said. "We fully support the council, through it's rangers, enforcing the laws in an appropriate and professional manner provided that the laws are first clearly spelt out." Other issues highlighted at the really included the poor condition and restricted access to many dog exercise, the "unfairness" of concentrating 24-hour-a-day beach exercise areas to Forresters Beach, Ocean/Ettalong Point and Patonga, deletion of the dog exercise are a Adcock Park, relocation of the Patonga area to a section of beach that is under water at high tide and the failure of the proposal to tackle the issue of stray dogs.