Dog park petition

It looks like some of the people who live in the neighborhood around the corner of 24th Avenue South and South 34th Street aren't so thrilled that the city wants to convert a small park at the intersection into a new city-owned dog park. The owners of the Carrington Court apartment complex directly north of the park are circulating a petition for renters to sign. WDAZ-TV has a story on the petition.

I'm personally very glad to see this petition start up. As you probably know, I'm very much against a dog park at this location. Dog parks do not belong next to apartment complexes and single family houses, nor should an existing park which is already used by people be converted into an ugly fenced-in area for dogs. Dog parks are fine, but it is all about location, location, location when building such a facility and this proposed location is a very poor choice. I hope that the petition might spread to some of the other apartment complexes in the area and around the quiet residential neighborhood that borders the park.

I find it worth noting that the man who spoke in favor of a dog park at this location in the WDAZ report did not have his dog on a leash and was allowing him to run freely through the park. This is in violation of city law and, unfortunately, just serves to show that some dog-owners don't feel they need to follow city rules when they take their dogs out. If you're going to speak in favor of the city spending money for you to have a dog park that you can use, the least you can do is follow city law and have your dog on a leash!