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Is Mountain Home ready for a Dog Park?Posted Sunday, June 28, 2009, at 11:20 AM
If you say yes how long do you think it will take to get one set up and ready to use? Would there be rules and regulations? Will this be something that the COP's will patrol or will they create new jobs and pay someone to manage it? Another idea maybe a dog group form and they take turns managing the park Will it be mandantory for all dogs to be current on their shots especially Rabies? Should there be different times set for small and big dogs? Should dog owners also be responsible for cleaning up after their dog and no littering while in the park? Or could a nice idea turn into aggressive dogs running loose in the park, irresponsible owners who don't watch their dogs and people getting bitten or injured? Where would the money come from to start up a dog park? So many questions !! Here's some information I found on the internet about starting a dog park Devise a funding plan When proposing a dog park, you can develop cost estimates with information from existing parks in other cities. Dog park lobbyists in Minneapolis, for example, used cost data from Seattle's COLA to make financial projections. Find the right spot The next step is finding a suitable location that will accommodate dogs and their owners without negatively affecting the surrounding neighborhood. Ideally, a dog park should include the following amenities: One acre or more surrounded by a 4- to 6-foot fence; shade and water; adequate drainage to preserve soil quality and promote cleanliness; sufficient parking close to the site; a double-gated entry; benches; and waste disposal stations with plastic pickup bags and covered receptacles. Given the tightness of most local government budgets, park organizers usually need some private funding to establish and maintain successful off-leash areas. Most parks receive some local-government assistance in the form of site development and maintenance, but many dog owners' groups make ongoing fund raising a primary mission. Comments Showing comments in chronological order [Show most recent comments first] |
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If eveyone walking a dog would USE it, instead of letting their dogs "decoraate" other people's lawns, it would be good.
I think after the "newness" wore off, participation would dwindle.
What would make sense to ME, is for all dog owners who WANT it, let THEM "ante-up" for it. Not all taxpayers OWN dogs and shouldn't be taxed for a park they'll never use. When completed, only those who PAID for it could use it, easily enforced by a coded gate, to prevent NON-payers from using it for free.
This is called, "having a project pay its own way." If you guys want a dog park, that's the way I think it should go.
If I want to go to Disneyland next week, it's ME who has to pay for the trip.
Bazookaman, Can't agree or disagree with your comment about a dog park, I do have a dog but wonder if he would be able to be with other dogs and be able to get along with all of them. I do think the city needs something for our dogs, just like the taxpayers pay for all the parks that most don't use. Taxpayers pay for the golf course and we don't all use that. We all are paying for this pipe dream of a rec center for years now that has never got off the ground. I know every time I mow my front yard I have to pick up the crap from someone else's dog, mine uses the back yard for his play ground and deposit area and I have to pick that up but shouldn't have to clean up after someone elses dog. I do think if we have a dog park it should have and make it law that dog owners clean up after their own dog while they are there, but knowing that won't happen either.
People can't or won't keep their dogs under control without a dog park so I can see them just letting them run loose and causing many problems in a dog park. We have one person in our area that takes their dog for a walk and uses a 25ft expanding lease. They allow the dog to use the entire 25 ft to explore everyone's yard. We have tried nicely and not so nicely to tell them that many of us do not appreciate this practice but it has fallen on deaf ears. We have also seen others walking their dogs with the lease over their shoulders because Fido is freindly and ALWAYS listens to them. Except for when they come by our house and their friendly dog comes into our yard or garage. They seem surprised that Fido did not follow their shouted commands from 1/2 a block away. Add into all this that we rarely see anyone picking up after their dog has made a deposit on someone else's yard, I do not think a dog park is a good idea in Mt Home. We have far more important needs, like upgrading the storm drain systems or improving the roads. I say spend the money on these things BEFORE a park that will cause a burden on the city as a whole.
I wholeheartedly agree.
WHile I think it would be great to have a dog park, I can not see spending the money on it when we just cut the money for the senior citizen's meals.
If we did have a dog park, I don't think I would be one using it. I have a small neutered male dog who has a lot of testosterone, he thinks he's a big dog in a small body. He would be the one to pick a fight and all it would take is one bite from a big dog and he would be minced meat. lol ! I would want my dog under my control and not running loose with other dogs.
I like the idea bazookaman mentioned a coded gate and I agree with doglover77 that we could spend money on something better then a dog park.
It would be nice for those who want a dog park if it wouldn't turn into another headache for Mt Home
I think a big part of the problem with this idea is laid out in the first sentence of this article; ie; "many LARGE cities" have dog parks. Large cities=large populations=large tax base, combined with greater difficulty getting a pet to an outdoor rec area. I agree with previous comments regarding more serious needs; we need to feed our seniors before worrying about dog parks. I also find many pet 'gifts' when mowing, even tho I don't have any pets myself. Dog owners won't find much support with many of us already 'supporting' their cause of little Fido and Fifi, since we're already cleaning up after them in our yards.
http://www.bing.com/maps/default.aspx?v=...
The above website is a link to the dog park at Lake Padden Park, (Bellingham area, Washington)
The large dog park is the large rectangular area and the small dog park is the small rectangle area in the upper left corner of the large dog area.
The vertical tree area in the center provides shade and a few shallow pools of water. The areas are enclosed with 6ft chain link. The small dog rectangle is all grass, no water or trees but still a very nice place for small dogs to socialize.
Also you can see this area is sandwiched between a golf course, ball field and non-motorized boat lake that is surrounded by a bike/jogging trail.
Mountain Home could certainly do this. There is a place for a fence around the rocks at Ridgecrest Park on the north side of the pavillion, albeit no water or trees, but it is not as messy that way. Almost everybody around Ridgecrest owns dogs. People already bring their dogs to walk the park also and play frisbee in that field from other areas in Mountain Home. Also you can sit at the pavillion and watch your dogs play.
Are dogs allowed in any of the parks in Mountain Home?