Update of proposal to change the off leash hours at Park

I have just received from Barbara Davidson, Superintendent of Leonia Recreation, an email stating that the mayor and council received a letter from a resident requesting more off leash hours. That a proposal has been written and will be presented to the M & C on June 9 at 7:30PM in the Annex.

I would think that a dialog between ourselves would be beneficial. Please email me with your comments and I will share them with the group. I would like to attend the meeting with a consensus as to what hours should be allocated to off leash.

Barry

Below is a copy of Barbara Davidson's email and the proposal;

Barry  a letter was sent to the Mayor and Council by a dog owner wishing to see the hours changed and given to the Commission to discuss. An effort was made to allow MORE hours to the off leash hours and the elimination of Saturdays was an effort to give the homeowners one day without the dogs in the park.  Saturday was thought of because more people work on Saturdays and gives more a chance on Sundays.  if you look at the below proposal you will see what is being discussed next Tuesday evening at 7:30 pm in the annex.  Your presence is most welcome. For information also, No one from our office put any notice down at the park.

Barbara H. Davidson
Supt. of Leonia Recreation
370 Broad Avenue
Leonia, NJ  07605
201-592-5783
Fax - 201-592-8654

proposal;

Proposed Off Leash Hours:

MONDAY THROUGH FRIDAY:  7:30 AM TO SUNSET  (Most people work and have children in school on the block)

SATURDAY:  NO OFF LEASH HOURS AT ALL

SUNDAY:  9:00 AM TO SUNSET

Please let me know your thoughts and will have ready for next Commission Meeting for approval.

Current Off Leash Ordinance

It shall be prohibited to have a pet off leash in any park in Leonia except as follows:

[Added 8-6-2007 by Ord. No. 13-07]

(1) Lakeview Park shall be available for off-leash pet hours at the following times:

·        (a) Weekday mornings from 7:30 a.m. until 10:30 a.m.

·        (b) Saturday, Sunday and holiday mornings from 8:30 a.m. until 11:00 a.m.

·        (c) From March 11 through November 4 between the hours of 5:00 p.m. and sunset.

·        (d) From November 5 through March 10 between the hours of 3:30 p.m. and sunset

Last night Sarah came home with rumors of another attempt to limit our use of the off leash hours at Dudley C. Allen Park, along with an email from Anthony (Tony) Tsang Yee, which I have copied below.

If anyone has more information about this PLEASE contact me so that we can be prepared to defend our hard fought rights to use our limited time and space with our dogs.

Barry

Email from Tony;

Dear Fellow Leonia Neighbors and Dog Owners:

I was just down at the dog park less than 20 minutes ago (Dudely Allen Park). Somebody pointed out to me a posted a sign to the effect that:  Somebody wants the dog park to be closed on Saturdays. There is also a mention of a Board Meeting in June about this... Does anybody have an idea what it really gong on?  If somebody could find out what the real issue is... I would really appreciate it.

As I understand it there is an town ordinance in place that sanctions this part of the park for dog owners.  If there is a counter movement to end or change this ordinance we need to act on it ASAP.

On another and related issue, I also just signed a petition to expand the hours at the dog park. I just think it would get more use out of the park.  I for one would like to be able to let my dogs run there around from 6:30 to 7:30 AM.  BEFORE WORK HOURS.

If you have not yet signed this petition... Please go the LeoniaDog group's site and sign thepetition there.

Anthony Tsang Yee

332 Beechwood Place

Interesting and Informative web site "Dogster.com"

Thanks Arthur for the tip on this marvelous web site. It is filled with first person stories about people and their dogs. It also has advice and interesting news stories. I recommend it as a useful distraction.

WWW.dogster.com

Petition to change the hours we can be off leash at Dudley Allen Park

Kerry Shelby has started an online petition to request the town to increase the off leash hours at Dudley Allen Park.

I support this effort and encourage all Leonia Dog Owners to sign it.

Dudley Allen Dog Park Hours

Dog owners residing in Leonia are eager to utilize the Dudley Allen Dog Park during peak day light hours! I need your help to change the hours so our 4-legged family members can play in the park :)

1. The dog portion of this facility is separated by a fence from any area that children or adults may use. There is no sharing of space so dog use would not impede on people use.

2. The facility does not require any person or persons to be employed to monitor its use, thereby not requiring an increased expenditure of any kind to the town to increase hours.

3. The dog parks in the following local towns have adopted a sunrise to sunset policy. Livingston Dog park, Maplewood/Millburn Essex Co. South Mountain Dog Park, Louis Morris in Morristown (9:00am to sunset), Overpeck Co. Park, Elysian Park in Hoboken, Voorhees Dog Park, Cameron Dog Park in Parsippany and many others.

There is no inconvenience to other park users, no extra expense involved and there is a precedent set by other communities around us to increase the hours that the dog park is available for use.

We loose an hour's sleep this weekend

1. Daylight Saving Time (United States) 2015 begins at 2:00 AM on

   Sunday, March 8

   and ends at 2:00 AM on

   Sunday, November 1
2. 
   

Dog rides bus alone to go to dog park

POSTED 8:50 AM, JANUARY 13, 2015, BY FOX 4 NEWSROOM

http://fox4kc.com/2015/01/13/dog-rides-bus-alone-to-go-to-dog-park/

More video

In the Seattle area, this is not uncommon scene.

According to the Christian Science Monitor,Eclipse, a 2-year-old labrador retriever bullmastiff mix regularly rides a city bus from her home to a nearby dog park. Eclipse rides the bus all by herself, and often hops onto a seat next to other passengers.

"It doesn't really appear to have an owner," the Monitor quoted local radio host Miles Montgomery as saying. "The dog gets off at the dog park. I just look out the window and I'm like, 'did that just happen?'"

It's not as if she doesn't have an owner. In fact, often she waits at the bus stop with her owner, Jeff Young. Sometimes, Young explains, he hasn't finished smoking a cigarette when the bus arrives, and since the two go to the dog park so often, the dog boards the bus and rides to the park by herself, much to the joy of many other riders.

"She's been here the last two years, so she's been urbanized, totally. She's a bus-riding, sidewalk-walking dog," Young says. "Probably once a week I get a phone call. 'Hi. I have your dog Eclipse here on 3rd and Bell. I have to tell them, 'No. She's fine.' She knows what she's doing."

Young told ABC News he always follows closely behind Eclipse on a later bus for the handful of stops to the dog park and then goes home with her. He said Eclipse loves interacting with other passengers.

Some bus riders have gotten quite used to her, according to KOMO-TV, Channel 4 in Seattle.

"All the bus drivers know her. She sits here just like a person does," said commuter Tiona Rainwater, as she rode the bus through downtown Monday. "She makes everybody happy. How could you not love this thing?"

A spokesman for Seattle's version of the PVTA, Metro Transit, says the agency loves the fact that the dog is using the bus.

"She would be much safer in the world if she had her owner on a leash," he said, jokingly.

So when Young and Eclipse get separated, it's not a concern.

"We get separated. She gets on the bus without me, and I catch up with her at the dog park," Young told the TV station. "It's not hard to get on. She gets on in front of her house and she gets off at the dog park, three or four stops later."

Seattle isn't alone in having a streetwise dog, according to the Huffington Post. Stray dogs in Moscow, Russia, have learned to commute in and out of the city from the suburbs by riding the subway, even watching out for other dogs to make sure they exit at the correct stop.

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