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July 28, 2003
Dog Photo of the Week -- 7/28
Dog owners are celebrating in St. Petersburg. The city now has five dog parks where canines can run free, play and meet new friends.
Posted by Gwen at 01:02 PM | Comments (0)
July 27, 2003
Parks and Recreation Meeting
On Thursday July 24th, our group met with the staff at the city’s Park and Recreation Department. The purpose of the meeting was to share information and begin discussion on the implementation of our dog park. Overall the meeting went great.
Jay Steffen has assumed responsibility as the media contact on this project and will answer any questions about the city’s role in the creation of our dog park.
We are soliciting volunteers from the different quadrants of the city to become a part of the core task force. It’s important that each area of the city is represented. Please contact us at info@grdogpark.com if you are interested in representing your area.
Posted by Gwen at 05:26 PM | Comments (0)
Off-leash article
Great article from Bloomington, Minnesota covering dog park facts and fiction, Unleash the truth: Myths and misconceptions about off-leash areas
Posted by Gwen at 04:13 PM | Comments (0)
July 25, 2003
Dog Park E-mail List
Would you like the latest information about our quest for a city-sanctioned dog park delivered to you via e-mail? If so, just click here to subscribe.
Posted by Gwen at 11:36 AM | Comments (0)
July 24, 2003
Message Board
Check out our new Grand Rapids Dog Park Enthusiasts Message Board! Post all your comments here or ask your own question -- you can even invite other people to join in the discussion!
Posted by Gwen at 03:37 PM | Comments (1)
July 23, 2003
Dog Photo of the Week -- 7/21
Ah, beautiful Palm Springs! In this city dog park, dogs run and play leash-free -- the park never closes.
Posted by Gwen at 10:39 AM | Comments (0)
Something to Say?
We are currently in the process of creating a blanket letter as a group that you can download from this site and send to Mayor Logie, the Parks & Recreation Department and Animal Control. Until then, we encourage you to contact these officials personally, as a citizen of Grand Rapids and/or Kent County, via e-mail, traditional mail or fax.
Mayor John H. Logie
Grand Rapids City Hall
300 Monroe Avenue NW
Grand Rapids, MI 49503-2206
E-mail: mayor@ci.grand-rapids.mi.us
Parks & Recreation Department
Attn: Jay Steffen
201 Market Avenue S.W.
Grand Rapids, Michigan 49503
Fax: 616.456.4567
E-mail: jsteffen@ci.grand-rapids.mi.us
Kent County Animal Control
711 Ball Avenue NE
Grand Rapids, MI 49503
Fax: 616.336.2425
Posted by Gwen at 10:08 AM | Comments (3)
July 18, 2003
Fox 17 News
"Dog Catchers Take Action" story from Fox 17 News covers the recent crackdown at Cambridge Park.
Click on the extended entry below to read full story.
Dog Catchers Take Action
July 17, 2003
GRAND RAPIDS -- There's a big crackdown on pet owners who don't keep their dogs on a leash, as the city of Grand Rapids and Kent County are putting some teeth into their leash laws.
Several dog owners in a neighborhood on the southeast side used to let their canine pals roam free in several area parks. Especially Cambridge Park, where many considered it the unofficial dog park in Grand Rapids.
Now after some complaints, animal control officers are taking action.
"County Commissioners recognized that stray dogs in our community is a large problem, and they want people to take it seriously," says Animal Control Officer Veronica Smith. "They don't want them to think of it as a slap on the wrist.
So officers have been patrolling the neighborhood around Cambridge Park, giving tickets out to those who don't obey the leash law. Earlier, the Grand Rapids Police Department said it issued more than seventy warnings but it didn't stop the problem.
"We're giving people warnings and they are not listening,.so the last few weeks we've been patrolling the area," Smith says.
Dog owners agree the law helps keep pets under control but say a dog park is needed in town.
"At the same time there's got to be a place where pet owners can go, where if you have a safe dog you can safely take them and let them play let them socialize," says dog owner Jilian Rakow.
Animal control says if you get caught letting your dog run loose a second time, it'll cost you $100. A third time, it goes up to $250.
The city of Grand Rapids has budgeted for a new dog park but hasn't decided where to put it.
Posted by Gwen at 02:18 PM | Comments (11)
July 15, 2003
To run or not to run
To run or not to run… that has become the question as of late. It started out nice enough, a peaceful evening at the park, dogs romping with their canine friends, people enjoying the sunshine and one another’s company when I heard, leash them up. The warning was followed by a furious rush to the exit by a few people and their dogs. By the time I figured out what was going on the animal control person was gaining ground fast. It was at that moment I decided to stand my ground. And I’m glad I did.
The woman from animal control actually offered some invaluable insight into all this. Animal control is reacting to calls from the Parks and Recreation department about the dogs. They issued 77 warning’s last week and are stepping up their patrolling. They are on duty from 7:00 in the morning till 10:00 at night. The woman actually referred us to Shaggy Pines! We told her that she shouldn’t make that recommendation to us because we already pay to use the park by paying taxes and weren’t about to pay that kind of money.
To make a long story short we’re out 40 bucks but it was almost worth it to hear what’s going on from her. Hopefully the city will use our $40 for a bench at our new dog park with an inscription from Ella and Josie.
Hope to see everyone on Friday.
Posted by at 10:53 PM | Comments (9)
Kent County Animal Control
Kent County Animal Control is issuing tickets for all dogs off-leash (running at large) and/or not having your dog licensed. Their hours are from 7am to 10pm.
If you need to contact Animal Control, their information is listed below:
711 Ball Avenue NE
Grand Rapids, MI 49503
Phone: (616) 336-3210
Posted by Gwen at 10:39 PM | Comments (2)
Comments
If you would like to talk with the Parks & Recreation Department personally, you can contact them directly at 616.456.3290. Click here to visit their web site.
As it says on their web site, "The parks are yours, ENJOY THEM!"
Posted by Gwen at 10:28 PM | Comments (1)
Dog Park Article
Check out this very relevant dog park article from The Bark Magazine, "Dog Power" about having your dog off-leash and being fined for it.
Posted by Gwen at 10:18 PM | Comments (0)
July 14, 2003
Dog Park “Sting”
Animal control and the Grand Rapids Police showed up at Cambridge Park tonight issuing tickets to people whose dogs were unleashed.
We will post more information about what transpired when we get first hand accounts.
Mad, concerned, irritated? Good…then get involved. Post your thoughts, comments, concerns, etc., on the site and let’s get organized. We’re having a meeting at 7:00 this Friday at Cambridge Park to discuss what happened tonight and what we can do.
We also have a meeting scheduled with the Parks and Recreation director for July 24 at 9:30am to discuss the next phase of our quest for a dog area.
Posted by Gwen at 09:30 PM | Comments (6)
Dog Photo of the Week -- 7/14
Owners really appreciate how much the park tires the dogs out. Especially when they take part in high-speed chases like this one. Brody leads the pack, pursued closely by Riley, Kodiak, and Kynisha.
Posted by at 02:23 PM | Comments (0)
July 08, 2003
More photos from dog beach
Click below to see some more fun photos from our last meeting on the dog beach at Norman Kruse Park.
Posted by Gwen at 10:17 AM | Comments (0)
July 07, 2003
Dog Photo of the Week -- 7/7
During the summer, the beach is the place to be!
Posted by at 09:34 PM | Comments (1)
The 50 Healthiest Cities for Pets
Molly, Gideon's mom, just happened upon this study done by Purina about the 50 healthiest cities for pets. She found it interesting that one of their criteria for a dog healthy city is one that has off-leash dog parks! Check it out!
Posted by Gwen at 03:59 PM | Comments (0)
July 04, 2003
Dog Beach Meeting
We had a great meeting out at the dog beach in Muskegon! We will post some of the photos next week... so stay tuned for that.
Also, we have a meeting scheduled with the folks at the Parks Department to discuss how we can help with implementing our new dog park. The meeting is scheduled for Thursday, July 24th at 9:30 am. Please e-mail Gwen no later than Monday, July 21 at gwen@grdogpark.com if you are interested in attending.
Posted by Gwen at 11:25 AM | Comments (0)
July 02, 2003
Dog Photo of the Week -- 06/30
Josie and Ella always get so tired at the lake (thank you, Norman Kruse Park)! Although, they do rest occasionally, enough time for a quick snapshot.
Posted by Gwen at 11:43 AM | Comments (1)