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| Off leash: Adam Day watches his dog, 'Louie' (far left), mingle with other canines at a dog park in Cambridge, Mass. Nicole Hill |
Plenty of tails are wagging at dog parks
More than 700 parks now dot the American landscape. Debates over leash laws and proper use of open spaces just come with the territory.
from the July 11, 2007 edition
Page 2 of 3
Some cities have debated whether to charge access fees. In 2002, officials in Mecklenburg County, N.C., implemented a structured dog park system that required $35 "pooch passes" for entry to any of the county's four dog parks. But after studying the success of unrestricted-access dog parks in Seattle; Portland, Ore.; New York; and other cities, the county announced a plan June 6 to phase out the passes in favor of free, unrestricted entry for all dogs.
"We have discovered in our scrutiny of [dog parks] that the liability is greater if you have controls, because then people assume that everything is safe, and they expect you to make sure it's safe, and they're not as diligent as they should be in watching out for their dogs," says Michael Cozza, public information coordinator for Mecklenburg County.
But not everyone is enthusiastic about dogs running freely on public property – especially in unfenced areas.
New York City park officials long maintained an unofficial off-leash policy, permitting owners to let their dogs roam free in unfenced city parks. But after years of bites and harassment claims involving unleashed dogs, the Juniper Park Civic Association (JPCA), a New York City advocacy group, sued the city in 2006 in an attempt to enforce the leash law. As a result of the suit, the city's parks department recently established official off-leash zones with set hours. That's still not sufficient for Robert Holden, president of the JPCA. "Do you feel comfortable in a pack of Rottweilers and pit bulls?" Mr. Holden asks. "When I walk past an unleashed pit bull, I'm frightened."
Indeed, in the eyes of some city park administrators, all breeds are not equal.
The Metro-Nashville (Tenn.) Parks and Recreation Department decided in 2006 to ban pit bulls from the city's three fenced dog parks. The ban was implemented after "extensive" research on pit bull attacks and documented evidence of local pit bull issues, says Bob Parrish, superintendent of natural resources for the department. Although many question its accuracy, a Center for Disease Control study released in 2000 labeled pit-bull types and Rottweilers as the breeds most responsible for human deaths. "The vast majority support the policy, understand it, and have thanked us for it," says Mr. Parrish.
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