A Dog Gone Failure

There was a lot of fanfare about Butte's first dog park. Too bad the provisions provided for dogs are a total failure. At least, that was the consensus of the 20 plus people that attended the first of many community council dog meetings held at racetrack fire hall.

If you have not used the new dog park at Skyline Park (behind NCAT) you should make an attempt. The dog pens are 1/4 mile away from the parking lot, for a 1/2 mile round trip. This may be fine for a person that wants exercise but for people with limited mobility and older citizens, this is a problem. 

The route is not paved all the way so it is not ADA accessible. Once you get to the pens you find a barren waste land of gravel, weeds and broken glass - not the kind of interactive place for dog owners to meet and socialize their dogs. Dog owners tried to participate in the design but were ignored during the process.

The first, most obvious flaw with the design is that dogs pee and poop when they get out of a car. Why would you put a children's playground immediately next to the parking lot shared by both the dog owners and others utilizing the park? There should be a separate parking area for people with dogs that would eliminate any conflict between users.

There is a whole list of improvements that could actually make this a usable park for dogs, their owners and other uses - but that is a long list!

It has been announced by BSB that this was Butte's first dog park and they are learning a lot and are thinking about changes. Too little, too late!! There are plenty of examples around the state and in other communities that could have been looked at.

But most importantly, and most left out of the process, were Butte’s own dog owners. If this group would have been brought together and listened to, the solution to a quality design would have been obvious.

A dog park should be just that: a park. A place for people and pets to be