VANCOUVER, Wash. — Dogs and their humans often go to the dog park to run around and have a good time. But one nonprofit is worried about aggressive dogs. They want the City of Vancouver and Clark County to work toward a plan to make sure dogs and people stay safe.
Lisa Feder is on the DOGPAW board. DOGPAW stands for Dog Owners Group for Park Access in Washington. It’s the nonprofit that runs four off-leash dog parks within Vancouver and Clark County.
She said lately more people have been visiting the dog parks, and sometimes problems arise.
“People let their guard down a little bit so there can be times where dogs can get into problems with each other and if somebody’s not paying attention, something can happen,” said Feder.
In the last year, Feder said there have been serious incidents in which dogs have died.
That’s why the organization has reached out to the city and county asking for help to maintain safety.
“There are several things that could potentially occur, which animal control officers is just one of those,” Feder said.
One idea is that an animal control officer could periodically check the parks to make sure people are following the rules.
“We want your dog to be licensed. We want your dog to be altered. We want your dog to not cause problems with other dogs,” said Feder.
But some dog owners say all that is the owner’s responsibility.
“My thought is more as a dog owner, for me, it’s my responsibility," said Aaron Gowen. "If my dog’s aggressive I wouldn’t bring him here. It’s only because I know my dog plays well with others that I would actually bring him to this park,” said Aaron Gowen.
Gowen and his dog, Taco, go to Dakota Memorial Dog Park pretty regularly. He said he hasn’t experienced any big problems.
But Feder said with summer here and more people and dogs going to the parks, she hopes the city and county does step in to help keep everyone here safe. She said DOGPAW has been in conversations with the city and county to try to develop a plan.
For more information visit dogpawoffleashparks.org.