A couple of weeks ago we took advantage of Western Washington's first hot sunny day in months to shake off the lingering doldrums of Seattle's wettest winter ever by taking dogs on a day trip to what I consider Washington's best off-leash area: Double Bluff Beach on Whidbey Island. About Double Bluff Beach Nestled on the northern end of Useless Bay, Double Bluff Beach Off Leash Area is a tw0 mile expanse of unfettered beach bounded by Puget Sound and 200-foot cliffs. On a clear day you can see Mount Rainier, Mount Baker, the Cascade and Olympic mountain ranges, and a sliver of Continue Reading
Stop Building Tiny Dog Parks in Seattle!
Earlier this month I wrote a post saying that I broke Seattle's leash law because the city doesn't have enough large off leash dog parks for a city with approximately 150,000 dogs. Although its population has increased almost 18% since 2000, Seattle increased its total off leash areas (OLAs) acreage by only 2.3 acres, or about 10%. Half of this land is found in a single inaccessible, underutilized OLA under I-5 (I-5 Colonnade). The other OLAs are extremely tiny like Kinnear Park (.1 acre) and Magnolia Manor (.4 acre). The reason I'm a leash law outlaw is Haley, our ball-obsessed Labrador Continue Reading
Seattle Dog Owners Frustrated that Proposed Plan for Off-Leash Areas Creates No New Off-Leash Areas
Last week the Seattle Board of Parks Commissioners held a public meeting to take comments regarding the draft of its People, Dogs and Parks Master Plan it released in June. The goal of the plan is to identify a long term plan for Seattle’s off-leash areas (OLAs) as well as for the maintenance, acquisition, and expansion of OLA projects. Here's a summary of my 3 main objections to the plan that I posted last month: NO NEW OFF-LEASH AREAS The OLA draft says that Seattle Parks “will specifically include OLAs as an element for consideration in the planning process” when SPR embarks on the Continue Reading
14-year-old is single-handedly building a dog park in Stanwood
Dan Cassuto from KING 5 reported yesterday that a Stanwood teenager is building a dog park in Stanwood on Camano Island entirely on his own. Landon McInelly decided to build it for his Eagle Scout project. He lobbied for the park at a city council meeting and convinced local businesses to donate all the materials. “I had to go to city council and ask if I was as able to do this, and explain what I was doing,” McInelly told Cassuto. “When I was done it was almost an immediate yes. They liked it.” And he doesn't even own a dog! Thank you to Landon for selflessly taking the initiative Continue Reading
Seattle Parks cracking down on dog owners that violate leash & scoop laws
KOMO News reported yesterday that the Seattle Parks and Recreation Department now has a "new full-time off-leash enforcement team...cruising Seattle's more than 400 parks and open areas" to cite dog owners violating the city's leash and poop scooping laws. The team consists of one Parks Department employee and one Animal Control enforcement officer. Last year the Seattle Parks and Recreation Department announced that it planned to put together an Off-Leash Area (OLA) Strategic Plan which “will guide the operations of existing OLAs, explore alternative service models and create a strategy Continue Reading
Thurston County cracks down on Furever Homes Dog Rescue
Last Wednesday the Thurston County Permitting and Land Use Office served notice to Furever Homes dog rescue founder Sharon Gold that she was in violation of the ordinance limiting residents to 3 dogs. According to my sources she had 12 dogs on site, but last June the Olympian reported she had 85 dogs on the property. Source also told me that Ms. Gold's landlord will evict her from the property on April 1 as her rental agreement didn't allow her to have dogs. According to Joint Animal Services Director Dr. Ric Torgerson, "a compliance issue was discovered at Ms. Gold's operation and Continue Reading