Osoyoos homeowner’s unique solution to save Ogopogo from peeing dogs

A topiary artist in the South Okanagan is taking action against dogs peeing on his nine-meter-long Ogopogo sculpture made out of plants.

Manuel Fernandes from Burnaby owns a summer home in Osoyoos. He shapes a leafy version of the Okanagan’s mythical lake monster on his property every year.

The green sculpture draws attention from summer vacationers and locals who often come by to take photos of it, but lately the lower leaves on the Ogopogo are turning brown and falling off from dog pee.

“The pee is acidic and burns the leaves. They turn yellow and brown and fall off,” Fernandes said. “It smells bad. It has been like this for awhile but I didn’t know what to do.”

The location of Fernandes’ property is a short walk away from the beachfront. He said the street is full of tourists and their dogs in the mornings and evenings. Typically, people don’t allow their dogs to get too close to his property when he is present, but that isn’t always the case.

“I confronted a guy who had his dog on a leash and came up right in front of me and let his dog pee on my plants,” Fernandes said. “I said ‘excuse me, he’s peeing on my bushes’, and he said ‘well, he’s gotta pee somewhere.’ It infuriated me.”

Most of the peeing happens when Fernandes isn’t around. So, he came up with a defensive strategy.

“I hooked up six motion sensor sprinklers to my irrigation line,” he said. “They spray into the bush and back about three feet, so owners with a dog on a leash might get their feet wet. The dog will have a surprising, free carwash.”

Fernandes doesn’t want to build a fence around his property as he likes his view and to share the topiary art he does with the public.

He hasn’t seen the new sprinklers in action yet, but is hopeful they will bring a bit of awareness to the issue.

“It isn’t just me, there are lots of people who complain the dogs are peeing on their bushes, plants and flowers,” he said. “Maybe the sprinklers will help get the message across and the dog owners might do something about it.”

Fernandez is a self-taught topiary artist, first starting out shaping a shrub into a chicken two decades ago.

Ogopogo, the ‘sea monster’ in Okanagan Lake, has taken many forms since the word first appeared in the 1920s when it was culturally appropriated.

N’ha-a-itk has existed for thousands of years, and holds important cultural significance, rich with depth and meaning for Okanagan First Nations.