I am a dog owner, a responsible dog owner, part of a large group of people you never hear anything about. The irresponsible dog owners get all the press because they make everyone so angry. We, the responsible ones, clean up after our own dogs and after others who don't. We make sure that our dogs are trained to be good citizens and well socialized around other dogs and people. We keep our dogs on a leash unless we are in a designated off-leash area.
Grateful Dogs Off Leash Association has existed for 12 years, promoting responsible dog ownership. We have worked with the cCity parks to monitor the existing off-leash areas to keep parks clean of dog feces and associated trash. We have raised money to buy biodegradable bags for Bloedel Donovan Park, to plant trees and make improvements to other off-leash areas.
While the population of people and dogs has grown in Bellingham, the space for off-leash recreation is shrinking, leaving remaining areas crowded. It is not surprising that so many people disobey the rules and let their dogs run wherever. The situation will get worse in the spring when the expansion of the sewage treatment plant at Post Point begins. Off-leash recreation will be limited during construction.
The 240 acres of Whatcom Falls Park was once entirely off-leash, now the dogs are limited to a small area of trails dangerously close to Lakeway Drive. There is no parking or easy access to the trail. The cemetery parking was removed without any thought on how dog owners would get to the trail.
For many of us, dogs in our lives are so important they provide us with companionship, exercise and social interaction. The myriad of working dogs that give valuable service to all of us, they rescue, they track, they sniff, they guide and supply therapy for numerous disabilities, they deserve the best.
Bellingham has approximately 10 miles of waterfront but not one inch of space are we legally allowed to throw a stick in the water for our dogs. You cannot throw a stick or a ball for your dog if he is on the end of a leash.
Five years ago Grateful Dogs members attended planning meetings for development of Squalicum Creek Park. A 2.5 acre site was designated to be a fenced off-leash park to be completed in 2010. Grateful Dogs raised money, then purchased and planted 125 trees. There was no water supply so they buried artificial irrigation packs two summers in a row. The trees are maturing and all doing well, but the park has not been completed.
Wouldn't it make sense to have more legal off-leash areas for our city? I understand that a quarter of the population of Bellingham has one or two dogs. Remember on the other end of every dog's leash is a person needing space just the same as disc golfers, soccer and baseball players and other recreational pursuits that are also catered to.
I am in my declining years. The importance of my small dog in my life is huge. She gets me up every morning to go to an off-leash park where she can run and I can walk. She keeps me alert and active, but most of all she makes me laugh and that is the best!
ABOUT WINDOW ON MY WORLD
Window On My World is an occasional essay in Monday's Bellingham Herald that allows Whatcom County residents to share their passion for what they do, an idea or cause they support. Send your Window On My World, which must be no more than 700 words, to Julie.shirley@bellinghamherald.com.
