Welcome to DCDogVoter.com
Welcome to DCDogVoter.com. We are a community of tax-paying citizens of Washington, DC who wish to see our city become a dog-friendly place to live. At present, there are only a few sanctioned and/or tolerated places where residents can exercise their dogs off-leash.
The city council decision to establish dog parks seemed like a good step, but the rules the dog park committee drafted were retributive and prohibitive. As the citizens of DC questioned those rules, the city began to crack down on dog owners. In one case, they arrested and criminally charged one dog owner for having his brown Lab off-leash. In another, they closed a fenced-in area of a park which was only used by dog owners. They did this without notice and eventually, after much pressure, wrote the following note explaining the closure:
Dear Mr. ___,
The department received several phone calls from the citizens who reside at Allison and Arkansas, that contrary to the regulations, dog walkers were using the playground there as a de facto dog park – creating among other things, a disturbance. This playground was once used by the Sharpe school, but seems to have gone into disuse when they erected their own on the hill. DPR policy 2.103 clearly states that no dogs are allowed on or near playgrounds, athletic fields, picnic areas or community gardens – with or without a leash. Dog owners, and especially dog-walkers have been flouting these rules for years and creating unauthorized d og-parks throughout the city. The current debate regarding the creation of legal dog-parks seems to have drawn the attention of citizens who have hitherto been silent regarding this flouting of the rules, and like you they too have been in touch with the Mayor’s office, their respective Council members and their ANC’s. As you may know, the criteria for the creation of dog parks are currently under review with input from community groups from every Ward, the Council, DOH, MPD, etc. Until this is finalized and a decision is taken as to where dog parks will be situated, DPR will follow the current rules. As such this defunct playground at Allison and Arkansas has been contracted out to be demolished and fence removed in the next few weeks.
Thank you for your interest in the DC Department of Parks and Recreation.
Sincerely,
Evelyn Woods
Customer Service Manager
At present, dog owners have few options in DC. We can risk criminal charges or, worse, having our dogs shot. We can visit the overrun, semi-official park in Adams Morgan, or we can pay for the right to use Congressional Park Cemetery. Or we can contend with soccer and baseball players for the use of their fields. None of these is acceptable. We are citizens of the District. We pay taxes and we deserve service and respect from our government.
We are working toward the establishment of reasonable rules and guidelines for the establishment of dog parks in DC. We are also working to establish a citywide policy of tolerance until such rules are in place and official dog parks are fully established and functioning. We will use this space to organize and to share information towards these goals.
