Bring a Safe, Sectioned Dog Run to Our Park
A well-designed dog run makes the whole neighborhood safer and happier, whether or not you have a dog. Add your name below.
Why a sectioned dog run helps everyone
There's enough open space in our park to divide the run into zones, and that one design choice makes a real difference in how dogs and people experience it.
Picture the moment a small dog's owner spots a big dog approaching and instinctively scoops their pup up off the ground. It feels protective, but to the small dog, it reads as danger. That single motion can plant fear, and fear curdles into aggression fast.
A dog's core instinct is to protect its owner. So the next time a big dog gets close, that small dog may lunge, bark, snap, or nip, not out of meanness, but because it senses its owner's fear and is doing the only thing it knows how to do about it.
Size doesn't matter to instinct. A dog's protective drive can override its size entirely. A ten-pound dog will still throw itself at a hundred-pound dog if it believes its person is threatened.
Sectioning the run removes the trigger before it ever happens. When reactive dogs, small dogs, mixed-size dogs, and big dogs each have their own space, nobody has to brace for a surprise encounter. Owners relax. Dogs read that calm. And calm, well-socialized time in a run is how dogs get better-behaved over time.
Reactive Dogs
A low-stress space for dogs working through fear or reactivity, without the pressure of unpredictable encounters.
Small Dogs
Room to run and play at their own scale, away from the size and speed of much larger dogs.
Mixed Sizes
For well-socialized dogs of any size whose owners are comfortable with open, general play.
Big Dogs Only
Space for larger dogs to play at full speed without worrying about hurting a smaller dog by accident.
It helps people without pets too. A sectioned, well-managed run is calmer and more predictable for parents with strollers, neighbors who are simply afraid of dogs, and anyone who just wants to walk through the park without an unexpected chase or collision.
The proposal, in brief
This is a short summary of the full proposal, not the complete document.
- 01
The location works. There is open, underused park space in our neighborhood that's well-suited to a sectioned layout without displacing existing park use.
- 02
The community needs it. Local dog owners currently share one unsectioned space (or none at all), which creates exactly the kind of size-mismatch tension described above.
- 03
The benefit is shared. A safer, more predictable run means better-behaved dogs and more confident owners, and that makes the park more pleasant for everyone, including people without pets.
- 04
It can become a real gathering place. A well-run dog run tends to build community. Neighbors meet neighbors, and the park becomes something people are proud of.
- 05
Funding options exist. Possible paths include city parks grants, participatory budgeting, and community fundraising support, to be pursued once there's demonstrated community backing.
The full proposal is available to community boards and officials on request.
Add your name to the petition
Every signature helps make the case to community boards and city officials that our neighborhood wants a safer, sectioned dog run.
Thank you for signing!
Your voice helps bring a safer, sectioned dog run to our community.
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