But is there something you’d change? Add? How do you feel about paying for dog park access?
Well, now is the time to make your voice heard.
Oakland County is seeking feedback on their dog parks with the “Bring in the Bark” online survey available now by clicking here.
I just took the survey — it takes just a couple minutes, gathers some information about dog park users and most importantly, offers space for you give advice and make recommendations.
Those of you who follow this blog know that Sensi is far from being dog park quality — he’s fearful, reactive and doesn’t do well around strangers and some other dogs (big dogs, male dogs, any dog that might possibly be capable of posing a threat to him).
Even though I can’t take him to the dog park, I’ve been to the beautiful Orion Oaks on several occasions and thoroughly enjoyed each visit.
But I love the idea of having small, private yards available for rent. We don’t have a fence at our house, so we use a cable to keep Sensi in the yard. This means he doesn’t get much off-leash time.
If I could rent a yard for perhaps $5 for a half hour or $10 to $15 for an hour, I’d be there every weekend. Maybe twice a week. I’d round up Sensi’s doggie friends, pile them all in the Jeep, grab some fetch toys and head out for some fun.
Oh, how I wish something like that existed!
And the yard doesn’t have to be dog-park-sized-large. All he needs is a little space to run around and do some zoomies in. Please Oakland County, hear my pleas! See the revenue opportunity that exists for something like that and make it happen!
After all, think about all the people out there with less than perfectly tempered dogs. Think about all the folks who live in apartments with no yards, or condos, or like me — people who have a yard that’s not fenced in and can’t afford to make that happen, but desperately want a space for their dog to just run around off-leash and chase freely after a ball.
Needless to say, I’m just thrilled that they’ve posted this survey and I’ll keep my fingers crossed for my wish to come true.
Do you have a wish? Make it known. Take the survey!
Check out some dancin’ dogs
Speaking of Oakland County, they’re hosting the “Awesome Pawsome Freestyle Dog Dance Competition” from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. this weekend, Nov. 6 and Nov. 7, at Springfield Oaks County Park Activity Center, 12451 Andersonville Road in Davisburg.
The event is free and open to the public, but spectators can’t bring their own dogs.
Even so, the dog dancing competitions are pretty cool to watch. You’ve got to have some respect for any dog/owner combination that invests so much time in training!
Way to go Waterhouse!
Waterhouse Photography in downtown Auburn Hills has been busy this year collecting food for the Michigan Animal Rescue League. The most recent fundraisers were in the last couple of weeks of October, where pet owners received a photo session for their pets for a donation of $20 and a bag of dry dog or cat food. More than 65 pets participated and more than 1,600 pounds of food was collected.
“We were so happy about the enormous response we received from pet parents traveling from as far as Port Huron to participate and more than touched by the stories (of) under what conditions some of the pets we photographed were rescued,” said Karla Waterhouse, owner of the studio. “All of the pets were so loveable, from the cute cats to the six-pound Miniature Poodle and the 100 pound Newfoundlander.”
Kudos to Karla and the Waterhouse staff for all they’ve done to help homeless animals!
There's a kennel/doggie daycare off M-59 between Williams Lake and Teggerdine called Diamond's K9 Pet Resort. The place is on a several acres and there are a number of fenced in playground areas available for romping. Terry can be reached at 248-931-3442, I'm sure she'd love to set something up with you. The place is awesome and for the first time we're not hesitant to go on trips because we know our two big (adopted) dogs are in excellent hands. Terry is an active supporter of animal rescue as well.
ReplyDeleteLove your column, just discovered it this week!
Laurie