You are so right Rogers Rabbits, this has been a bone for me too, that we pay dog registrations and get nothing back - not even a collar like we used to.

It's just money for jam as my old Dad would have said.

Here in Western Bay of Plenty's Te Puke, I pay $67 each for my two jack russells or $100 each if I don't pay before the end of July, and I receive a little plastic tag.

I wouldn't mind if I could see the council providing us with a walkway away from traffic, where dogs could run free. I'm not talking about a park but a walkway. Here in Te Puke we have a lovely natural stream with a park and a five-minute walkway along it, then the stream disappears under the road bridge and into the distance.

I've often stood and looked longingly at the stream, as it goes out of sight among long grass and trees, wishing there was a path for my dogs and I to walk the bank and enjoy nature.

Surely some of the registration fee we pay could be put towards a project like this?

N Griffiths, Te Puke.