Your source for information regarding the creation of an off-leash dog park in the Crescenta Valley area!

Why should we build a dog park in the Crescenta Valley area?

• Allows local residents open space access to socialize and exercise their dogs in a safe environment.
• Promotes responsible pet ownership.
• Provides elderly and disabled owners with an accessible place to exercise their companions.
• Enables dogs to legally run off-leash.
• Promotes public health and safety.
• Provides a tool for realistic enforcement of dog control laws.
• Get more public use of existing county land.

Dogs, by nature, are pack animals; and socializing dogs with one another is a very healthy activity that is vital to the well being of any dog.  Human companionship alone is not enough for a  happy,  healthy dog. Dogs need access to open space; they need  to be exercised and socialized with other dogs and establish safe and friendly relationships with other animals. Open space, off-leash activity promotes confidence within a dog and shows them how they need to behave with other dogs, often mitigating the very negative behavioral traits, such as shyness and reclusiveness, that lead to attacks on other dogs and people.

Dog owners are a substantial group of park users: a conservative estimate is that there are 103,903 dog owners in the Crescenta Valley area (La Crescenta, Montrose, La Canada, Glendale, Sunland, and Tujunga) and 59,273 dogs. For the county, these figures are considerably higher, with an estimated 3,046,188.16 dog owners and 1,737,758.35 dogs.**  Other groups- such as skateboarders, lawn bowlers, and equestrian enthusiasts, for example - have been given special consideration in view of their unique park needs. The overwhelming numbers of dogs and dog owners would seem to warrant specific consideration for them as well.

Access to a dog park close to home is the safest and most effective way to ensure that owners socialize their dogs and provide them with on-going experiences in the outside world. This not only benefits the dog and its owner but also neighbors who are affected by unacceptable behavior at home, other park and street users, and authorities responsible for urban animal management.

Dog parks also provide positive effects on their owners. Owning a dog encourages people to exercise and visit their local park. Taking a dog out has also been found to stimulate social interaction with other people (Journal of Nutrition and the Elderly, 1996).

Dog parks create a balanced approach to accommodating dog owners in public open space may achieve higher levels of compliance by dog owners with relevant laws. If dog owners perceive laws to be unfair it may elicit a defiant rather than a compliant response from dog owners - they may ignore the laws in protest. If, on the other hand, laws are perceived to be fair people will be more likely to voluntarily comply. However, the impact of these programs can only be limited without an access policy that is perceived to be fair by dog owners.

So why don’t we have a park for our dogs? Why don’t we have a place in Glendale or La Crescenta were dog owners can take their dogs to engage in activities such as playing, socialization, and off leash training? With so many parks in the different Crescenta Valley cities, it seems that there would be room somewhere where both dogs and people can interact and play.  The problem now is a lack of free space for Foothill residents and their pets to engage in the very activities that make our four legged friends happy.

 

**Based on data collected from the US Census Bureau (2000) and the American Veterinary Medical Association. To view the complete Crescenta Valley population study, click here (alternately you can right click on the link and select "Save As" and download it to your local machine).

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