Local News

<< Previous   of   Next >> Jennifer Buchanan / The Herald  (click to enlarge) Samantha Boyle, 6, of Snohomish pets Barney, her 9-year-old golden retriever, Wednesday at the off-leash dog park at Willis Tucker Community Park near Mill Creek.   ADVERTISEMENT   Dog park etiquette Dog owners are asked to follow some simple rules when taking their pets to the park: Clean up after your dog. No aggressive dogs allowed. Keep your dog in sight. Don’t bring more dogs than you can control. Immunized dogs only. Take off your dog’s metal collar and other things that could hurt other dogs. No female dogs in heat. A female dog in heat could increase the number of unwanted puppies. For more information on off-leash dog parks in Snohomish County, contact Sno-DOG at volunteers@sno-dog.org or 360-568-1098. The volunteer group’s Web site is at www.sno-dog.org. Source: Cibyl Perkins of Sno-DOG.   CONTACT THE HERALD Robert Frank, City Editor frank@heraldnet.com   Published: Thursday, July 26, 2007 Park goes leash-free near Mill Creek By Yoshiaki Nohara, Herald Writer Snohomish County is getting dog-friendly. Dog lovers now can let their dogs run around off leash at a new park near Mill Creek. And county officials and volunteers are teaming up to open three more off-leash dog parks in the county over the next few years. "It's very exciting for us to see this all coming together," said Cibyl Perkins, director of Sno-DOG, a grass-roots group. Perkins, who lives in Snohomish, created the volunteer group in March to help the county secure more open space where dogs can chase tennis balls, catch Frisbees and burn off energy. The county has set aside $250,000 this year to create off-leash dog parks. About 30 volunteers put up a fence around the new three-acre off-leash dog area at Willis Tucker Community Park near Mill Creek. That helped the county save money. The county spent about $6,000 creating the off-leash area; it wants to expand the area to 11 acres in the future, said Tom Tiegen, the county's parks director. The grand opening of the new dog park on Tuesday drew about 40 people and their dogs. Debbie Chapin of Mill Creek let her two golden retrievers - Millie, 10, and Mikey, 8 - run around and mingle with other dogs. Chapin said she used to take her dogs to off-leash areas in Redmond, Edmonds and Everett. "My dogs are big, and they need good exercise," Chapin, 53, said. "And it's a good social time" for dog owners. Dan Kestle brought to the new dog park his three dogs: Tucker, 8, a black Lab; Nouget, 9, a coonhound; and Zeus, 3, also a black Lab. Many dog owners live in cities and don't usually have a place near their homes to let their dogs run around, Kestle said. "It saves a lot of green space. I'm glad I'm spending my tax dollars on this," said Kestle, 44, of Mill Creek. A few cities in the county already have off-leash dog parks. Everett has three, Edmonds one, and Gold Bar one. The county has proposed to build new off-leash dog parks at Tambark Creek Park in Bothell, Field's Riffle just west of Snohomish and Mother Nature's Window park near Marysville. Those new parks are expected to open within a few years, Tiegen said. Marysville also plans to create a new off-leash area. It has prepared a design for a tentative five-acre site off 40th Street NE behind Sunnyside Elementary School. The new park could cost $60,000 to $80,000, according to city officials. Sno-DOG is trying to get a nonprofit status so that it can accept donations for new off-leash dog parks, Perkins said. Once the new parks get built, the group plans to help the county maintain them, she said. Volunteers of the group aim to promote etiquette at the dog parks, Perkins said. The group will stock plastic bags at dog parks, she said. No aggressive dogs are allowed at the county's off-leash park, Tiegen said. Dog owners need to clean up after their dogs and be responsible for their behavior. "It's basically an ongoing education," he said. Reporter Yoshiaki Nohara: 425-339-3029 or ynohara@heraldnet.com.

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