Wednesday, October 8, 2008

What to do about dogs in the park?

One issue that generated a lot of discussion at the last council meeting was Rust Park, now designated as a dog park. It appears Tacoma police are encouraging anyone they find with an unleashed dog to head down to Ruston, where its legal to let your dog run free. There are more and more dogs with their owners visiting the last few weeks. Not all the dog owners are responsible about clean up or control of their dogs.

Another problem is the town's insurance carrier has expressed concerns about the potential liability for Ruston if a child (or anyone) gets bit by one of the dogs. But the visitors seem to really enjoy this space where the dogs can run.

The town is exploring options to try to keep everyone happy. Maybe building a separate dog area to the east of the current park for only dogs. The council talked about posting signs. Responsible dog owners talked about cleaning up where they can. Everyone wants to find a solution. What ideas do you have? What are the priorities? Are there any good solutions? Or only compromises?

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

I think people need to stop crying about this. If someone gets bit, that's their problem.

Anonymous said...

That ignores the reality of a world run by lawyers. Ruston would probably get sued if a kid gets bit by a pit bull running loose in the park, with endorsement from the town. Got any other ideas?

Anonymous said...

Any unleashed dog left to run amuck has the potential to bite if excited or annoyed. Having a separate dog area does not delete this happening. It just means it can happen in the dog kennel area to someone who is in with the dogs. If
Ruston doesn't want to worry about a law suit from this kind of activity, then it is simple, change the Ruston ordinance to 'dogs on leashes only'.

Anonymous said...

call the waaaambulance if ur scared of lawyers