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Survey: Does Your Neighborhood Need a Dog Park?
Washington DC

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Much as we love living in the city, DC badly needs more dog parks. Many of the lovely parks are off limit to dogs (like the one above!). Residents with and without dogs have been lobbying for more dog parks, but in a city overwhelmed with petitions and lobbying, the dog park efforts haven't gotten very far. Does your neighborhood need a dog park? Survey below the jump...

 
 

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[Photos taken at an undisclosed location somewhere in DC.]

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Comments (7)

Toronto DEFINITELY needs more dog parks! My condo building has a nice big patch of grass in the main courtyard and dogs are not allowed. Well there isn't a law that can force dogs to not play on grass so many of us don't abide by the rules.

posted by mva1201 on September 8th 2008 at 10:10am
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we have a really cute little park across the street from us. they have little stands with biodegradable poop bags and receptacles for the waste. the water fountain even has a dog spout and bowl at doggie height.

posted by dosergirl on September 8th 2008 at 11:14am
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Minneapolis has quite a few really nice dog parks. One is located on the shores of the Mississippi!! Great for dogs that love water.

posted by yogiluvzbaseball on September 8th 2008 at 11:48am
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I'd like to see a cat park. Cat leashes are becoming more and more popular, but I'd feel safer taking my cat out on a leash if it were in a fence enclosed area. A different fenced enclosed area than the one the dogs are in :)

posted by deidrel on September 8th 2008 at 12:28pm
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Ok. I know this will be an unpopular perspective, but here goes: My neighborhood has a dog run, but that doesn't seem to encourage enough owners (or paid walkers) to pick up after their pets on the surrounding sidewalks or keep them on leashes once they're out of the dog park. I'm a parent myself, and have had to do a lot of shoe cleaning over the years that my child has had to share public spaces with dogs. (There were relatively few dogs in Central London, where we lived before.) I also know that aggression can be a concern, though my kid hasn't been bitten. And DC's public parks aren't even developed for use by human children as thoughtfully as they should be. Dog owners outnumber parents in my neighborhood, and I want to be neighborly (usually), but I think societies should recognize that they have more of a collective investment in the next generation (of people). So while I acknowledge the "eyes on the street" value dog walkers bring to any neighborhood , this just isn't in my family's best interest.

posted by SYB_in_DC on September 8th 2008 at 6:23pm
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cat park? seriously? lol...

posted by jamilkb on September 9th 2008 at 3:43am
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I don't want to be an ass but what cat wouldn't be able to squirm out of a leash and let someone walk them like that? I really want to meet this cat. My dog doesn't like playing with other dogs. : ( It really bums me. I think it's just his personality though cause I really think my baby thinks he's human.

posted by Snugglitas on September 19th 2008 at 5:43am
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