Dear Urban Dog Owners,
I am writing today to urge you to take a second to read the signage in the Chicago Park District Children's Playlots. You will notice that it says "No dogs allowed." That sign applies to the whole area of playground equipment inside the fence to which said sign is attached. There are acres of green grass surrounding the woodchipped playlots for your dog to run around in.
In the spirit of full disclosure, I am not a dog owner. But I have been a regular dog sitter and therefore understand the needs of dogs. I respect their desire to run free and chase things and frolic about. Go ahead and let your dog off leash in the park. Play fetch or frisbee. Or just sit in the shade. As long as you pick up after your dog, I don't really care what you do in the park.
I do care about you allowing your dog to run free in a fenced in playlot specifically designated for small children. If your dog is not well trained enough to run free in the park, then it is certainly not well trained enough to run free around little kids. If your dog is too dumb to not run into oncoming traffic, then your dog is also too dumb to not run into a toddler playing in the sand.
I understand that a public park is not going to be the cleanest place for children to play in just by nature of it being a public space. But your allowing your dog to urinate and defecate on playground equipment is simply criminal. Kids scramble all over these things and it disgusts me to think about my child crawling through your animal's excrement.
If you are in the playlot with your child as well as your pet, please leave your dog outside of the fence. There are several nice shady spots along the fence that you can tie your dog to while keeping an eye on it. Some parks even have little puppy drinking fountains so your dog can stay well hydrated. Take advantage of these amenities and it will be safer for everyone.
So urban dog owners, I hope you take this seriously. The public parks are one of the many great features of Chicago and I hope we can all enjoy them together, kids and dogs alike.
Sincerely,
Elizabeth
P.S. To the lady who puts her toy poodle in the baby swing and pushes it: Shame on you. There is no reason for that whatsoever.
9 hours ago
This is absolutely my pet peve (sp?), but you are more forgiving than I am. I hate dogs off their leashes in parks unless the dog is the best behaved dog ever EVER. I would add these comments to your open letter:
ReplyDeleteDog owner, when your dog runs onto my park blanket, and you laugh and yell "oh DOGNAME, come on! Come on, DOGNAME" over and over while your dog sniffs my food, it is NOT CUTE.
Likewise, when your dog runs up to my one year old and sniffs her face, and you just stand there repeating your dog's name over and over again (HELLO it is NOT listening to you!) it is NOT cute. Not even when my daughter giggles, but especially not when she cries and runs into my lap.
Finally, if your dog does not come to you the FIRST time you call its name, it should not be off leash at a kids' park, at all.
Oh, and I might actually pay money to see a poodle in a swing.