Dog Parks

The following article was found in the May edition of the Chicagoland Tails Magazine

The social mecca of the modern urban dog, dog parks are a relatively recent phenomenon. Ohlone Dog Park, the country’s first officially sanctioned dog park, opened to four-legged visitors in 1979 in Berkeley, CA. The need for off-leash play areas specifically for dogs became apparent as leash laws implemented in the 1970s became increasingly stringent—and universal—applying even to parks and leaving frisky Fidos with literally nowhere to run. Yet dog parks have stoked controversy from the beginning among city dwellers vying for competing rights over precious green space. Fortunately for Fifi, dog lovers across the country continue to organize and advocate on her behalf with increasing success for the right to frolic unfettered.


The ABCs of Run, Lassie, Run
Functioning as designated locales within city confines where canines can unwind unleashed, dog parks may easily appear as a de facto right to guardians everywhere. But key to the successful establishment of any dog park is a realistic and considerate weighing of the rights of the nonguardian, who may well oppose a dog park in his back yard, so to speak, on the grounds of barking, odor, and noxious nuisance. Dog parks can prosper only when they contribute to the well-being of the community as a whole. Fortunately, with thorough planning, organization, and creative funding on the part of the dog park advocates, a workable consensus is usually well within reach.   Many cities require that community groups seeking funding fall within a nonprofit umbrella structure. As a nonprofit, the dog park group is additionally eligible to apply for grant funding through many private endowments, foundations, and associations. City officials also often take the requests of legal entities—replete with a formal mission statement, annual reports, and elected officers—more seriously than those of ragtag individuals.   Generally taken most seriously of all by city councilmen and councilwomen alike are the intended location of the proposed pooch park itself and the amount of funding requested. Dog park organizations must present a detailed funding proposal to the city council, often allowing for sources outside the city council to fill in monetary gaps. The less solely reliant on city funding the organization can prove itself, the more likely the dog park will get the green light. According to Stacey Hawk, chair of Wrightwood Neighbors Association’s Wiggly Field Advisory Committee and co-founder of Wiggly Field, the city of Chicago’s first dog-friendly area (DFA), “Our major funding continues to be (and always has been) from Wrightwood Neighbors Association—we are an ongoing committee of this nonprofit organization. WNA actually funded construction of the park and gives us an annual $5,000 grant for ongoing maintenance. We also get business sponsorship donations, as well as individual donations from park users.”
The Somerville Dog Owners Group of Somerville, MA, likewise owes much of its success in establishing multiple off-leash park areas in the city to its well-cultivated relationship with city officials. Michele Biscoe, founder and chairperson of the group, reflects, “The city of Somerville has established a fund—the Somerville Unleashed Fund—to which people can make direct donations for the construction and maintenance of off-leash recreational areas. The Somerville Dog Owners Group has donated the proceeds from several fundraisers to Somerville Unleashed.” Dog park dreamers are also wise to set their sights on a strategic location that nonguardians have little reason to covet but that still caters to wanderlusting pooches in matters of shade, water, and space. The less controversial the chosen spot, the more easily city council members can approve it.

A Movement is Born
No dog park is an island. Like all worthy social institutions, the flourishing of the modern dog park owes its existence to some outstanding precedents and poop-scooping pioneers—many of which continue to put their experience at the service of novice puppy park planners. The renowned success of pet-friendly Seattle’s dog parks has occasioned groups from all across the country to mimic the planning strategies of Citizens for Off-Leash Areas (COLA). And for those who had to invent the wheel, so to speak, their grassroots gathering of community support proved time-intensive but worth the effort. Speaking of her efforts to establish Wiggly Field in the early 1990s, Hawk states plainly, “Everyone wasn’t online to communicate, and information wasn’t available on the Internet. We had to gain community support, which meant a long process of all of us getting involved in the community—which was a good thing. We had to establish a process that could be used by others wanting to establish area DFAs.”   In 2004, Michele Biscoe was a prospective dog adopter in Somerville, MA, in search of places for her pooch to play. To her dismay, she soon found that all parks in the area were closed to dogs—and she was not alone in her frustration. “I was surprised that dog [guardians] were not recognized as a significant group of park users. … After I adopted my dog in April 2004, I started to meet other dog [guardians] who were enjoying the benefits of socializing and exercising their dogs off-leash, albeit illegally, in public open spaces,” says Biscoe. “A group of us began organizing monthly meetings to begin to work together on a strategy for legal options for off-leash recreation. At the same time, Mayor Joe Curtatone and members of the Board of Aldermen convened a Dog Owners Task Force for residents to meet with city officials on solutions to address the recreational needs of people with dogs.”   Civic cooperation between Biscoe’s group and city officials soon yielded tangible off-leash results, with the establishment of two off-leash recreational areas (OLRAs) by 2008. Not stopping there, the group has continued to advocate for further OLRAs amid increasingly scarce public space. A third OLRA is also in the works for canine residents of East Somerville, funded through federal community development block grants, according to Biscoe.   “A committed group of people who live in the neighborhood and are willing to work for safe and legal options for off-leash recreation is critical,” Biscoe continues. “Responsible and engaged local dog [guardians] make the difference between whether the community at large perceives dog [guardians] as good neighbors or as scofflaws and whether the community sees off-leash recreation as something that truly benefits everyone who enjoys open space.”   Echoing Biscoe’s insistence on the importance of forming solid relationships for the long-term flourishing of any dog park, Hawk muses, “I think some of our biggest supporters were non-dog [guardians] who recognized the value of having separate, safe areas for our dogs to socialize, exercise, and recreate, while leaving other green spaces dog-free, to be used for their intentional recreational purposes.”

More than Mainstream
Dog parks unfortunately remain a luxury to many communities, which is exactly why those shopping for luxury real estate in intensely urban environs increasingly find dog parks among the advertised amenities. If you’re in the market for a high-end condo or apartment from Los Angeles to New York to anywhere in between, don’t be surprised to read “dog park” next to “indoor swimming pool” and “sky-high ceilings.” Dog parks are becoming par for the course for modern real estate developments aimed at buyers who expect nothing less than the best—for themselves and their pets. Upscale apartment developments are also employing pet-friendly techniques to make their digs more inviting. Stonebridge Ranch in Chandler, AZ, for instance, proudly features a pet of the month on its “Walk of Fame” as a furry ego-boosting way of highlighting the development’s commitment to its community of four-footed residents. And emblematic of the dog park’s encroachment into some of the most sought-after zip codes around, “a whimsical puppy park that accommodates the needs of canine companions” features as one of the chief amenities of the unspeakably chic Upper East Side apartment complex at 205 E. 59th St. in the heart of Midtown Manhattan.   Airports aren’t lagging far behind dog park fever, either. As of May 13, 2009, the Department of Transportation requires all airlines to provide pet relief areas and escorts for passengers with service animals. But many airports are going the extra mile, furnishing spacious off-leash park areas for service animals and jet-setting dogs alike who are on the go and, yes, who sometimes just have to go. The Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport in Atlanta, for instance, boasts a 1,000-foot grassy off-leash play area for canines in transit. Phoenix’s Sky Harbor International Airport likewise accommodates three dog parks, aptly named the Pet Patch, the Paw Pad, and the Bone Yard, all with ample room for Rover to stretch his legs.   The age of the dog park is decidedly here. Tail-wagging patrons of dog parks across the country may not realize they’re reaping the benefits of a revolutionary era. But sometimes play speaks for itself, and a good doggie frolic is worth a thousand words. By and large, dog park advocates wouldn’t have it any other way.


Come visit Best Friends Dog Park in Prairie View.  Day and yearly passes are available.