Bill vs Pit Bull

[Alessandra]

As a former DC (now suburban) resident, I'll say that an "unofficial dog area" in DC is a polite way of saying an area where dog owners have repeatedly broken the law to the point that the people for whom the park was designed, particularly those with children, gave up and went away. 3 times, I've lived in areas in DC where a group of dog owners have decided to make a school's play area the "un official dog area". In one case, the dog area was "Saturday only" but the area was so covered with poop that recess and outdoor PE were impossible, and 400 kids lost 1/2 of their outdoor playspace. In the other 2 cases, where schools were located close to National Park service land with the plan to have the children play there, kids were routinely terrorized at recess. The fact the the police didn't enforce the rules in no way made it OK.

 

My honest opinion is that before someone chooses to live in DC and own a dog with a high need for exercise, that person has a responsibility to make sure they have a plan for legally and sufficiently exercising the dog. If you live in the city and you want a Vizsla, great, but make sure that you have a large fenced yard, sufficient time and energy to run for hours with your dog on a leash, or enough money to hire someone to exercise your dog. Otherwise, make a different choice.

 

I'm not talking about Bill, because I don't know where he lives. It sounds like some kind of utopia where there are so many parks that the humans can give up 29 acres, an enormous amount of space, and where no dog owner would take an untrained dog to an "unofficial" dog park, or leave the poop unscooped. If it's really like that, then great. DC is not like that.

Well, the area I am referring to was not a place where children would be, I think. It was a rather scrubby bit of land with trees and underbrush, sloping land and bits of rock here and there. I never saw any dog poop. It may not have have been an official 'park.' I really don't know, but it was not the sort of place with benches, paths, drinking fountains. But I agree, the situation you describe is problematic.

[Bluegoat]

Here I think it's up to the restaurant/pub owner.  Kitchens are off-limits to dogs, but, for example, our local pub-with-food allows dogs.  Husband often walks the dog over and has a pint.

 

I wish I could have taken my dog to the pub.  There are a lot of great stories about pub dogs.

[Spy Car]

As a former DC (now suburban) resident, I'll say that an "unofficial dog area" in DC is a polite way of saying an area where dog owners have repeatedly broken the law to the point that the people for whom the park was designed, particularly those with children, gave up and went away. 3 times, I've lived in areas in DC where a group of dog owners have decided to make a school's play area the "un official dog area". In one case, the dog area was "Saturday only" but the area was so covered with poop that recess and outdoor PE were impossible, and 400 kids lost 1/2 of their outdoor playspace. In the other 2 cases, where schools were located close to National Park service land with the plan to have the children play there, kids were routinely terrorized at recess. The fact the the police didn't enforce the rules in no way made it OK.

 

My honest opinion is that before someone chooses to live in DC and own a dog with a high need for exercise, that person has a responsibility to make sure they have a plan for legally and sufficiently exercising the dog. If you live in the city and you want a Vizsla, great, but make sure that you have a large fenced yard, sufficient time and energy to run for hours with your dog on a leash, or enough money to hire someone to exercise your dog. Otherwise, make a different choice.

 

I'm not talking about Bill, because I don't know where he lives. It sounds like some kind of utopia where there are so many parks that the humans can give up 29 acres, an enormous amount of space, and where no dog owner would take an untrained dog to an "unofficial" dog park, or leave the poop unscooped. If it's really like that, then great. DC is not like that.

In the case of our park, half of it is undeveloped land. It is an area that can't be built upon for two reasons: a large underground gas pipeline runs under it, and it is also a flood control area. The (now lovely) developed side of the park was a forlorn strip of vacant land 25 years ago. It was a blight in an otherwise beautiful neighborhood. It was neighborhood dog owners, including Shirly Jones and her husband Marty Ingles, who spearheaded the transformation of a weedy vacant lot into a lush park with grass, trees, benches, and poop collection supplies. This park is now a richly prized community resource.

 

I do have a large fenced yard, but there is nothing like getting out for a good run and enjoying play opportunities with other dogs. The community guards this resource because we know how easily it could be lost.

 

Bill