Recently in dog parks Category

What?

A new dog park for San Pedro?

Well, you'll have to join the Air Force to use it. But still. Kind of exciting to hear even a hint about San Pedro dog park plans after waiting and waiting -- and waiting -- for plans to get back on track to develop a permanent, sufficiently sized dog park to serve the community.

(The current park on Harbor Boulevard, a concession negotiated in the Knoll Hill-Eastview Little League skirmish from several years ago, is only temporary. And it's tiny, under 1 acre for both large and small dogs, which is substantially below the city's recommended size for dog parks.)

But I digress.

This new one will serve the residents of the Pacific Heights and Pacific Crest military housing areas in San Pedro. It's small, but I'm sure it'll be appreciated by the residents. Looks like there already are questions from the public about the proposed space which is near the northwest side of the White Point Nature Preserve. 

Here's the blurb from the Palisades Residents Association newsletter:

New Dog Park in Pacific Heights alongside WPNP Bluff Trail

Tierra Vista, who manages the military housing for the Air Force has begun constructing a dog park that will be 150 feet by 75 feet near the north west side of the White Point Nature Preserve fence - for Pacific Heights and Pacific Crest Air Force Housing residents only.

According to Molly Markel, Community Manager, the fencing will be 5 feet tall and black to match the color of the existing fence. Tierra Vista will be installing irrigation to grow grass to an area of 50 feet by 100 feet. Another path will be installed, made of crushed rock to mimic the existing landscape. The surrounding landscape, will be left the same - not disturbing the natural look of the area.

The hours of operation for the dog park will be 7 days a week, but only from dawn till dusk to respect neighbor's privacy - namely on Hamilton and Silvius. Landscapers will be responsible to keep the area aesthetically pleasing as part of their contract.

I guess some folks have braved it, but we haven't been to the dog park in San Pedro since Saturday. Here's why:


Remember this home video  from January?

We are still leash walking, however. Annie Oakley the cat is tough, she still enjoys going out when the rain periods are light. Cats, go figure.

It is actually a good time to wear those cute rain boots and show off your adorable dogs. Daily Breeze photographer Brad Graverson got this shot yesterday in Hermosa Beach:

Adrienne Green brought out her pink rain galoshes to walk her dogs Molly and Noah, right, in Hermosa Beach. (Brad Graverson / Staff Photographer)

So how are your dogs and cats holding up with the non-stop rain?

As always, we love to post your photos to share with our readers, so if you have some you want to send in -- Christmas, winter/holiday, rain themes -- feel free! 

In the ongoing saga to establish a dog park somewhere on the Palos Verdes Peninsula, the RPV City Council will discuss conceptual designs for Lower Hesse Park at its meeting at 7 p.m. Tuesday. The meeting is at Fred Hesse Community Park, 29301 Hawthorne Blvd., RPV.

A number of nearby residents have complained about adding a dog park there, however. Reportedly council members may direct staff to work on finding another spot for a dog park should that element not survive approvals for remaking Lower Hesse Park. (A dog park suggested for Grand View Park already has been dropped by planners.)

From Maureen Megowan, who with her husband Bruce has been spearheading this effort:

There were very few dog park supporters at the three public input meetings held this summer, and most of the input received was given by residents close by the proposed park who were vocal in their opposition to a dog park ....

The importance of (Tuesday's) meeting is magnified for two reasons. First, only negative comments about a dog park were received at the three public meetings. Secondly, we were recently informed that the County of Los Angeles would not even begin to review the feasibility of a dog park on the former Palos Verdes Landfill site until June 2012, two years from now.

.... Even if you believe that (Lower Hesse) may not be the appropriate location for a dog park, if you would like to see a dog park built somewhere on the Palos Verdes Peninsula, please voice your support .... If you want to see a dog park built on The Hill, now is when we need your support.

 For details, call or email Maureen at 310-541-6416; mmegowan@cox.net

If you want to learn more about dog parks -- especially the do's and don'ts -- dogparkUSA.com has compiled some tips you may find educational and helpful.

 

Manhattan Beach has put the word out for dog owners in the city who would like to serve on a committee addressing dog issues.

The Community Dog Advisory Committee meets at 6 p.m. Tuesdays -- the next meeting is Oct. 26. From the press release:

The city has worked for the past several years to increase the quality of life for dogs and their owners, specifically addressing the establishment of more places for dogs to walk, run and play.

"The Community Dog Advisory Committee activities are another way the Parks and Recreation Department strengthens community image and sense of place and helps facilitate community problem solving," said Idris Jassim Al-Oboudi, recreation services manager for the city. "We encourage pet owners to participate on this committee as we look for ways to provide safe, secure and fun environments for dogs and their owners, while respecting the rights of non-dog owners."

The committee positions are voluntary. If you're a Manhattan Beach resident and dog owner who is interested in serving, contact Al-Oboudi at 310-802-5404 or ialoboudi@citymb.info;  or Marty Friedman of FIDO at 310-545-5854, fidonow@att.net.

The meetings are held in the Joslyn Center at 1601 Valley Drive, Manhattan Beach.

 

 

Some dogs just love getting wet (not mine, thankfully). 

 I finally was able to get a shot of Tess and Cowboy in the same frame (photo below -- that's just me and Tess at the left).

 

 

 

Cowboy's very camera shy, but I was able to fake him out using my iPhone camera.

He also was quite eager to see that Tess was getting ready to chase the ball. That means that he'll get the chance to chase her, one of his all-time favorite games.

 

 

 

Now all I need to do is figure out a way to include  Annie the cat in the shot next time so I can finally send that "group" photo my vet's office asked me for a while back.

Think I could bring her to the park and maybe toss her into the frame for a flying-cat-with-dogs pic next time?

Perhaps not.  

******Aug. 25 Update

******8/18 Update: Charges have been filed in this case and the owner of Bear-Bear weighs in.

 

Dog parks usually offer a peaceful respite for dogs and their owners.

But things turned ugly last week at a dog park in Severn in Anne Arundel County, Maryland, where a Siberian Husky named Bear-Bear was shot to death on Aug. 2 by another dog owner, setting off an uproar among humane organizations, park regulars, area residents and community leaders.

Controversy over the case, which this week was turned over to the state's attorney, has sparked websites, petitions, bumper stickers, Facebook pages -- and, of course, a few campaign promises during the ongoing election season.

From the original story that ran in the Baltimore Sun on Aug. 3:

Stunned dog owners and residents of a Severn neighborhood are shocked that authorities won't be charging a federal police officer who shot and killed a Siberian husky Monday night at a community dog park.

Bear-Bear, a brown and white husky that was about 3 years old, was playing in the Quail Run dog park at about 6:30 p.m., running off leash inside the fenced-in area, when the officer and his wife arrived with a German shepherd, who was kept on a leash. When the dogs began to play roughly, the federal officer asked Bear-Bear's guardian, his owner's brother, to call off the dog. But before he could do anything, the officer pulled out a gun and shot Bear-Bear, according to the husky's owner.

Bear-Bear, who belongs to Rachel Rettaliata, died of his injuries a few hours later. County police did not name the federal officer.

 

Since then authorities have agreed to continue investigating the incident and the off-duty officer has been placed on leave. Here's another update. An attorney representing the man who shot the animal says he did so in defense of his pet, his wife and himself.

Just from what I've read so far, if the owners of the German shpherd kept their dog onleash the entire time, that could have contributed much of the trouble.

(And on a related topic, I just heard this morning that a dog fight broke out in the San Pedro dog park last night when a man brought in two intact male pit bulls -- but he kept both on leash after entering the park -- and trouble began when a young husky approached them; fortunately, no serious injuries, but so many of the problems in dog parks stem from owners who are new to the dog park concept and unwittingly behave in ways that set the stage for conflict.)

Update: This apparently wasn't an "official" dog park, but rather an area that is commonly used for people who want to off-leash their canines.

Two Facebook pages (here's the second one) have been launched in support of Bear-Bear's owners and a memorial was held Thursday night. The New York SPCA also says it is "closely monitoring" the case. We'll see how this one plays out. Here's a video interview with Bear-Bear's owners.

For updates, check the Sun's Unleashed dog blog maintained by one of the newspaper's reporters who wrote the story, Jill Rosen.

Blogger Penny Blankenship of Meeshka's World has published an interview with Bear-Bear's owners.   

 

Sigh. It looks like getting a dog park on the former Palos Verdes Peninsula Landfill in Rolling Hills Estates might take longer than expected, if it even happens.

Mike Gin, field deputy to Los Angeles County Supervisor Don Knabe, told Bruce and Maureen Megowan in an email that it could be 2012 before the county would be in a position to even consider the proposal. He writes: 

The Department of Parks and Recreation has initiated a pilot dog park project at Crescenta Valley Park in La Crescenta. It is currently in the design phase and is scheduled to open in June of 2011. As this will be the first county dog park, the department will be evaluating the successes and issues associated with the facility during the first year of operation before considering additional facilities.

Because Crescenta Valley Dog Park is a pilot project, we were not required to change the county code regarding off-leash dogs. However, if the county decides to develop additional dog off-leash facilities, the code would have to be amended prior to development. Due to this timeline, the earliest that we would be able to consider a dog park on the Palos Verdes Landfill would be June 2012.

There also are land safety concerns at the landfill that could delay plans there even longer, Gin noted. So while Gin said that a dog park there "may be a possibility in the long-term," it won't be happening anytime soon.

With that, he encouraged the Megowans and their supporters to continue looking at alternative sites on the peninsula, including Lower Hesse Park and Grandview Park in Rancho Palos Verdes. But even if a dog park component is approved at one or both of those parks, the sites are limited in space. So any dog park there would be quite small.

I'm not sure why it is, but off-leash dog parks around here are just notoriously difficult to establish. Go figure. 

Read our earlier posts on the PV dog park proposal.

Plans are moving forward for a dog park on the Palos Verdes Peninsula.

Bruce Megowan, who with his wife Maureen have been the driving force behind the idea, recently forwarded letters of support from the cities of Rolling Hills Estates and Palos Verdes Estates  --  along with 800 petition signatures from residents  --  to Los Angeles County Supervisor Don Knabe and his staff.

You can read the letters at these links:

dog park letter.pdf

dog park letter 2.pdf

Proponents are hoping to move the proposal forward soon (the county has jurisdiction over the proposed site -- a 2- to 3-acre spot on the southwest corner of the 175-acre former Palos Verdes Peninsula Landfill). The site already has a curb cut and driveway off of Hawthorne Boulevard, Bruce Megowan noted, as well as a graded parking area and an existing above-ground sprinkler system.

There's still the issue of money. Development cost estimates are $100,000 for fencing, grading, water fountain stations, and other necessities. But Bruce and Maureen are hopeful they'll be able to find the funding through grants and donations.

The landfill is at Palos Verdes Drive North and Hawthorne Boulevard.

 

  You can see the full proposal on Maureen Megowan's blog.

If you'd like more information or want to offer help or suggestions, contact Bruce at bmegowan@cox.net or Maureen at mmegowan@cox.net.

 

From fellow bloggers at the Baltimore Sun: One county in Maryland will charge owners an annual fee to use area dog parks.

Good idea?

Or not?