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City Council considers changes at Bow Wow Beach
By Gina Mace
Special to the Beacon Journal
Published on Monday, Jun 30, 2008
STOW: Dog owners may have to pay before their pets can play at Bow Wow Beach Dog Park.
Stow City Council members will meet next Monday to consider whether to charge a fee and look over other possible changes to the rules at the canine playground that opened a year ago at Silver Springs Park.
Situated on seven acres with a lake in the middle, Bow Wow Beach was named one of the 2008 top 10 dog parks in America by Dog Fancy magazine. Mentions of the park in Northeast Ohio blogs have brought an onslaught of Cuyahoga County residents and their dogs to frolic on Bow Wow Beach.
But problems with a few dogs and their owners — including the recent death of a puppy attacked by a poodle, and complaints of dog feces left on the grounds — have prompted the council to revisit the park's rules.
One Stow resident, fearful that the council wanted to close the park, addressed the members last week.
Geraldine Bettio said she and her husband frequent Bow Wow Beach with their two Rottweilers. She agreed that there should be some changes, but asked the council to keep the park open.
Bettio suggested that dog owners who want to use the park should register with the city and receive a key card for access to the beach, with special consideration given to Stow residents.
''I suggest this because the people, not the dogs, aren't obeying the rules,'' Bettio said. ''Large dog owners who don't care, small dog owners who don't have their dogs where they belong.''
Bettio said someone should be assigned to the park to enforce the rules. On a recent trip to the park, Bettio encountered an aggressive Yorkie.
She said the dog's owner, who told her he lives in Akron, said the dog is always aggressive.
''This person should have been told to leave, but no one was there to do that,'' she said.
Bettio reminded the council that many dog owners agreed to staff the park as volunteers at the park's inception.
''People are willing to volunteer,'' she said. ''I don't want to see [the park] ruined because a few people don't take care of their dogs and don't obey the rules. I think it's not fair for a few who don't live here to ruin it for the rest of us.''
Councilman at-Large Ron Alexander said the sale of park permits to Stow residents is among the changes to be discussed before the council's Public Improvements Committee.
Other permits — at a higher cost — would be made available to people who don't live in Stow.
To get an annual permit, the councilman said, a dog owner would be required to provide the animal's license, proof of vaccinations and proof of residency.
Visitors without a valid permit could be fined.
The proposed legislation also would reduce the number of dogs allowed to visit the park from three per visit to one.
Council Member Mary Bednar, who chairs the Public Improvements Committee, said the meeting is open to the public and scheduled during committee meetings that start at 7 p.m. at Stow City Hall.
''We are not looking to close the park,'' she said. ''We're looking to better the park.''
STOW: Dog owners may have to pay before their pets can play at Bow Wow Beach Dog Park.
Get the full article here.
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