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[quote=Anonymous]Not trying to start a war here. Just curious if anyone has reached a happy medium with this situation.

Many individuals in our wonderful neighborhood use the local school’s playground/ball fields as their personal dog park. Dogs off leash, running around with other dogs, chasing balls, etc. Mont Co law is very specific about how dogs cannot be unleashed UNLESS they are “immediately responsive to verbal or non-verbal direction.” [Sec 5-403] As a former dog owner (now too allergic to have one in my house), I know that well trained dogs can be very responsive to commands. But you can never be 100% certain.

For the most part, there aren’t any issues. But in the last year there have been a handful. All different dogs. These are dogs that regularly respond to voice command, but for some random reason they decided to chase a child. The owners are (usually) stunned and sorry, but it’s happened and it can’t be undone. And the reality is that it may happen again (whether it’s the same dog, the same child, whatever).

In our neighborhood case, many people avoid the playground because we don’t want to run the risk. And these dog owners are neighbors that we may be otherwise very friendly with on a regular basis. I am sensitive to the fact dogs need to run and you may not have a back yard big enough to accommodate it. And the social aspect of having lots of dogs around is great for the dogs (and owners). BUT there are formal dog parks that accommodate this need – they just may not be as convenient as a dog owner would like.

But children would like to use the ballfields and the playground too without competing with dogs. [The purpose for building the playground and ballfield after all.] For instance, if a child is trying to play ball -- tossing or kicking -- the dogs don’t understand the ball is not for them and will often engage. The “oh, my dog is just trying to play” comment isn’t helpful. It’s like the playground and ballfields are being held hostage by the dogs and their owners.

How can we reach a compromise without starting an war? I know this happens in neighborhoods all over the area so hopefully someone has a success story out there.
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