Members Present:There were a total of 22 people at the meeting (including 3 board members)! Great turn out!
We reminded everyone that on Saturday, June 14th the Friends of Schuylkill River Park is holding an "Annual Festival" which used to be called the Fall Festival. If anyone has animal items to donate, they may leave them with Brian in the Markward building any day after 3 PM beginning June 9th. We will have a dog table set up to sell those items, along with T-shirts, leash bags and other items to benefit the Dog Run.
We started by talking a little about Tribble's death and that everyone should look at the website at to find out the latest news. Recently, there have been more dogfights resulting in wounded animals, and this has raised concerns about how to both prevent them, and handle them once they occur.
We began by asking everyone to tell us what they came to say. Most people had things to contribute. Norman Jung, a member of Seger Dog Park, was also there to give us information on how they handle aggressive dog problems. Sharon Blumberg had spoken with Philadelphia Animal Care and Control agency (PACCA) and was told that "although they would like to help, neither PACCA nor any other agency has any enforcement authority over Dog Runs. This is because are no laws regarding dogs or their owners in dog runs."
We wanted to come out of the meeting with wording for a petition to try and get some laws written that address aggressive dog behavior.
Many testimonials, some from 'aggressive' dog owners, yielded the following observations:
1. There is a strong need to educate dog owners on how to monitor and control their dogs, as fights can be avoided by leaving the dog area, watching the dogs, and also *reacting appropriately* when a dog fight does occur. Many people felt that the aggressor dog's owner often does not see the fight, or does not acknowledge it, or try to prevent it .
2. The term 'aggressive' was discussed and it was pointed out that many fights are not started by aggression. An example is a puppy annoying an older dog, or playful juveniles pouncing on other dogs. We need a better definition of the term.
3. Jonathan Goldstein suggested that we deputize our members and write tickets to any aggressive dogs. But he also stressed that all dogs must be registered with the state/city and have proper dog licenses (something that many of us did not know). This could be one way of controlling who can use the run and who cannot. He suggested that we all work at getting the information out to all users of the Dog Run that licenses are required, so that in the event of an incident, it will be easier to take action to ban that dog from the run.
4. Someone also suggested that we hold information seminars and dog training sessions. Karoline added that the DOA already has a structure in place to start offering "Programs" to its members, but had only managed to have the Easter Party so far. Help is needed to accomplish these tasks. Lauren Messenger said that she knows an animal behavior specialist, and would be willing to get that person's participation.
5. Norman said that at Seger, they track incidents with aggressive dogs. After a certain number of incidents, they issue a warning. If there are further problems with that dog, they require it to wear a muzzle when inside the dog area. Finally, if the problems persist, the dog and owner are banned from the dog park. Norman said that they have a tightly knit group of 7 board members, and about 30 regular users who help monitor what's going on. He suggested that we have to reduce anonymity and have a presence as a group. At Seger they use 'peer pressure' to regulate things. He also said that they have an excellent relationship with the local police, and can call them and get immediate response.
6. Jonathan Goldstein said that if we get everyone's dog registered, he would help us establish stronger relations with the local police to help us keep unlicensed dogs out of the park.
7. Someone suggested that we should revamp the Rules, and post them all around the Park, not just inside the dog run. The sign should include that all dogs must be on leash.
8. We are going to start by asking people to help us hand out information on getting all users of the dog run to register their dogs and become DOA members. Seven people volunteered their help.
The next DOA meeting was scheduled for Thursday September 11th.
