Encinitas deserves dog parks

LAURIE MICHAELS
Commentary

North County Times
May 23, 2002

There is a void in Encinitas. Citizens with dogs deserve a place to enjoy off-leash recreation and socialization with friends and neighbors. The issue is not going to go away, and people will continue to break the law until they are given a place they need. Dog parks are popular all around the country today.

One of the challenges of living in small urban coastal communities such as Encinitas is finding effective ways to balance the community's limited public resources with the diverse interests of its citizens. The city's decision to consider creating a dog park is one response to this challenge. We applaud this decision.

The benefits of dogs parks are numerous. They provide opportunities for citizens to enjoy the outdoors with their dogs, permit elderly and disabled dog owners a safe and responsible place to exercise their companions, promote responsible pet ownership by allowing dog owners to exchange information on safety, health and dog training topics, and improve dog behavior, health and socialization through exercise and off-leash activities.

With the county spending millions to improve animal shelters and implementing humane no-kill policies, the need is greater than ever to provide citizens with reasons to adopt pets.

Given the aging of the population and the increasing incidence of people living alone, dogs' ability to facilitate social contact needs to be encouraged. For the elderly who live alone, taking a dog to the park may stimulate the only human contact that person has for an entire day.

Each group of potential dog-park users (children, teen-agers, adults, families, the elderly and the disabled) have different needs. A person with a disability needs to give his or her dog some time to play. An Encinitas resident said at a recent Parks and Recreation Meeting, "This way I give something back to (my) dog who is constantly by my side."

Families with children and dogs need access to a safe park close to home. Watching children play with their dogs is a heavenly sight of pure and simple joy, love and laughter.

People and Dogs Zones, or PADZ, is a nonprofit association dedicated to addressing the need for safe, off-leash recreational areas, promoting dog parks and providing a community forum to discuss them.

Dog parks are good for the community. They balance the interests of citizens who wish to use public space with their dogs with those who prefer that dogs not be present. The creation of separate, safely enclosed facilities throughout the city for people and dogs will accommodate everyone who uses our public parks.

For more information or to join PADZ, visit our Web site at http://padz.org or e-mail padz@adelphia.net.

Laurie Michaels of Encinitas is a member of the board of PADZ.