Like a dog with a bone, Lori Martin can't let it go. 

With the town-wide rise in crime and residents choosing to boost their canine security, Ms Martin says there are now more dogs than ever in need of an exercise area. 

She says she has made numerous calls to Katherine Town Council, lobbied the case at two meetings and collected more than 60 signatures on a petition, to no avail. 

"We want community consultation with the people who have dogs and want a dog park," Ms Martin said. 

"If they don't communicate with us [the dog park] will be a white elephant, people will not use it and it will be a waste of money. 

"We have been left in the dark and ignored by the council."

But according to a KTC spokeswoman, Katherine should be getting ready for not one, but two dog parks. 

"The Showground off leash dog area is part of the Showgrounds master plan, so this is not only for our current community but planning for our future community," the spokeswoman said. 

"We are working closely with Lori and those who use this area, however the funding for this project has not be sourced as of yet compared to the dog park that (KTC) has budgeted for.

"The dog park that won't be located at the showground is still in consultation, this is why we don't have a location as we need input from the community as it is for Katherine and more discussion is needed with the public.

"We have already budgeted for the project to get stage 1 complete."

There are three off-leash areas for dog owners to exercise their furry friends in Katherine, Lockheed Park, Casuarina Park, and the Showgrounds - all of them not quite up to par, according to Ms Martin.

"There is no parking at Lockheed Park, Casuarina is in the middle of suburbia and there are too many dogs to excite, and the Showground is unusable at various times of the year due to events like the Katherine Show, the races and camp draft," Ms Martin said. 

The long-term Katherine resident said she has been taking her two dogs Ruby and PK to the Showgrounds every Saturday for the past two years.

There, she meets fellow pet owners from as far as Tindal, so her dogs can enjoy regular exercise and social time. 

"The issue with the Showgrounds is we frequently can't use it due to events, it is an income generating area and we support that," Ms Martin said. 

"In a perfect world we would have that area, there is amazing shade and parking facilities. 

"What we want is a dedicated fenced off area at the Showgrounds."

Ms Martin said in a meeting with KTC Mayor Fay Miller in September of last year, the dog owners were told there was a usable part of the Showgrounds towards the back, near the horse stables. 

In a 'message from the Mayor', it was announced KTC would put $18,000 from general expenditure from the 2018/19 budget towards a park.

In October last year, the Katherine Times reported KTC was looking at two front runner areas - Lockheed Park and Casuarina Park, and that council was holding consultations with the community on best ways to establish a dedicated dog park. 

But according to Ms Martin, the dog park has been put on the back bench and there has been no communication of any kind. 

"We want to know what is going on. We want to know when meetings are happening, we want to be taken into consideration with plans," she said. 

"I have had to continually chase this up. 

"They have had sufficient time to liaise with users of the dog park to find out what they want and where they want it and they haven't done it.

"I have missed important meetings with Ashford Architects about Showground upgrades when all other user groups were involved and the council knows we have a stake in this. 

"Katherine needs a dog park because we can't take dogs to the river as there are too many crocodiles. 

"Property crime in Katherine is high and more people have dogs for their protection, but if you socialise dogs they are less likely to be inclined to be trouble dogs." 

Ms Martin said it is not just the numerous amount of people in Katherine with pets who would benefit, frequently grey nomads are opting to travel with their furry friends. 

Not only that, KTC would be able to use the dedicated fenced-off area for their annual dog events such as Doggy Day. 

"The people of Katherine that utilise the dog parks I have been going to for two years have spoken about wanting an dedicated dog park at the Showgrounds," Ms Martin said. 

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