My Town Got a Dog Park!

[Fundog]

Oh, I am so stoked! The city sent out a newsletter, and in it was a little blurb about a place we can let our dogs run. It is actually where the (now empty) irrigation pond is, and the Irrigation Pond Company agreed to let our town have access to it for letting our dogs run off-leash. Being where the pond is, it is just a fully fenced/enclosed, but natural, desert "wilderness" spot. There is no turf; just sand, rocks, Yucca, sage, and artemisia. City volunteers have done a lot of work trying to clean up weeds, but they are still working on the sand burrs-- that's really the only drawback. I took the girls last night, and they came home with a dozen burrs throughout their coats. Otherwise, they had an absolute ball, just running their tongues right out of their heads! And then... when it was time to go, I was calling Dottie, but she only looked at me-- she didn't come. However, when I held up the leash, she came running! I was ecstatic. I made sure to love her up real good. I also need to get the girls in for the rattlesnake vaccine as soon as I can afford it (hubby is laid up with a herniated disc in his back, and can't work right now), since there are rattlers out there, and no way to keep them out, it being their natural habitat.

So that's it. I just had to share my exciting news. Does anyone know of a good way to get rid of sand burrs? The city would love to hear it.

[Nettle]

FANTASTIC!!!!!!!!

Sorry don't know anything about sand burrs.

[wvvdiup1]

GREAAAAAAT!

I wonder how kellyanne1988 is doing in getting a dog park in her town? (See "I wish we had a dog park" in an earlier posting in General Discussions)

wvvdiup1

[Fundog]

Yeah, I saw Kelly Anne's thread. Our city actually was negotiating to get property for a dog park for two years already, as was the neighboring city, before they opened theirs-- at they aren't all that fancy-- just a section of land cordoned off with some chain link fencing! At the other one, the city did install some water fountains/hoses for the dogs, and some residents donated a kiddie pool and toys. At the one just opened up in my town (at the irrigation pond), I noticed someone donated a pair of outdoor lounge chairs. I'm trying to noodle some ideas for ways I can contribute to make it better.

As a minor update, within the larger enclosure as a whole, there is a smaller section fenced off as well, that does not have burrs. Though it is smaller, it is still quite large (large enough to build two houses on), enough to wear out even the most energetic runner. And... I had some more success with Dottie's recall! She came every time I called her! I'm sooo excited, this enclosed area is going to be great.

Oh! And Dottie flushed a dove out of a chapperale (sp?) tree! That was fun for her-- the dove got away, of course, but it was fun to see her get excited about it.

[mj702002]

Yeah!! You sound soo excited!! Good for you- and your town!!

[Paul&Muttley]

I was pleased to find that the KOA at Harper's Ferry now has a fenced off-leash dog area. Campgrounds are great places for dogs and people to socialize in a natural setting. There were no other dogs in the area when I let Muttley loose, and he was happy enough to just wander around and poop in some tall grass. I feel that I must be extra cautious with him around other dogs, but he had some good canine and human socialization at the campground and also at a shopping mall.

[wvvdiup1]

Are we talking about the KOA campground in Harper's Ferry, near Hagerstown? I saw that too a couple of weeks ago, unfortunately, I didn't have Emma with me! She would have loved that!

wvvdiup1

[Paul&Muttley]

Yes, it is about 25 miles from Hagerstown. We usually stay at the KOA in Williamsport, which is about 8 miles from Hagerstown, when we go to the Blues Festival, but all the Kabins were booked when I called in early May. But we did stay there on Sunday night, and kept Muttley in the Kabin while my friend and I went to the festival at the City Park. Our neighbors in the next Kabin said that Muttley was trying to get out, because they could hear some noises and they saw the door latch moving, but he didn't bark or whine and he was not destructive.

The picture of me and Muttley in my sig was taken at the KOA last year. Here is another one of him and my friends from that time:



And from 2007:
http://www.smart.net/~pstech/Muttley/MuttleyKOA.htm

We plan to go again at the end of August for the Williamsport C&O Canal days weekend, and maybe also around the 4th of July.

[wvvdiup1]

Great pics, Paul! When I was there a couple of weeks ago, I didn't stay at the campground; instead, my family and I had our Memorial Day picnic there with some friends of mine who were staying there. Had I known the campground had a dog park, I would have brought Emma.

As I've said earlier in my last post, Emma would have enjoyed the dog park. The whole time I was there, I thought a lot about Emma being home and wished I brought her along. I didn't bring her along because we were also helping my brother move from his old apartment to his new one and weren't sure if he was allowed to have pets there. In addition, I didn't want Emma sitting in a hot car while we were moving my brother's things. I hate seeing that when other people do it even if it is for a few minutes.

I definately agree with you about places like campgrounds having a dog park, especially when so many people have pets and who don't want to leave their pets at home when they go on vacation to campgrounds or beaches. Interestingly enough, if you go to your local AAA, you can get a travelers booklet that lists places that allows pets, and if you notice, that list is getting longer which I am glad. I'm one of those people who is uneasy about leaving my pets, especially my dogs, in a kennel, even though there are good ones around. As I see it, my dog(s) are part of my family!

If you do go to Williamsport for Canal Days and for the Fourth of July, have fun! I know I love it down there because it is beautiful, and when I find the time, I make the almost 1-1/2 hour trip down there. By the way, do you know if Fort Frederick State Park has a dog park?

wvvdiup1

[Paul&Muttley]

Here is a link to some places in the area that have been evaluated for their dog-friendliness. Ft Frederick allows dogs but does not have an off-leash dog area like the one in Harpers Ferry. The one they have appears to be very recently built.
http://www.dogfriendly.com/server/trave ... town.shtml

I am actually considering purchasing a property in the Hagerstown area. Real estate prices are very low at this time. I would like to purchase a multi-family building and try to establish an intentional community for a number of people (and dogs, of course!). I am setting up a website with more information at http://www.newkoinonia.com.

Here are a few properties that seem interesting:
http://matrix.mris.com/matrix/public/di ... 1071264-11
http://matrix.mris.com/matrix/public/di ... 1071264-35

[kelleyanne1988]

To answer yall on how I'm doing about a dog park here... Is no good right now. Summer school just started back up and with work and then Gunner it's getting a little difficult to find time for much of anything else right now. I continue to set up puppy playdates with friends at my house, so he's still able to get some puppy playtime and socialization. Once he gets all his shots and comes when called, I'm sure to take him to the dog park by my parents house when i go to town.

Congrats on the new dog park!

[Kittylove5]

To answer yall on how I'm doing about a dog park here... Is no good right now. Summer school just started back up and with work and then Gunner it's getting a little difficult to find time for much of anything else right now. I continue to set up puppy playdates with friends at my house, so he's still able to get some puppy playtime and socialization. Once he gets all his shots and comes when called, I'm sure to take him to the dog park by my parents house when i go to town.

Congrats on the new dog park!

Hope things goes well and you get a dog park.

Congrats Fundog

I don't even know if our town has even spoke about dogparks..