San Francisco Dog Park Plagued With Problems

Every good pet parent knows that a well exercised dog is a happy dog. Talking your canine companion to the dog park several times a week can help them to work off excess energy, get used to other dogs, and be more relaxed and friendly around the home. Even though daily exercise is ideal, not everyone has time in their busy schedule. That’s why at Citizen Canine we always offer clean and safe play areas where your pet can socialize and get some much needed exercise while they’re at dog daycare.

For some of the animal loving residents of San Francisco, their dog park is no longer a good option, and some outspoken dog owners say the Parks and Recreation department is to blame. The Douglass Park in Noe Valley is located on a long steep stretch of green hill, and the dog park in the upper section has been frequently closed, flooded, and unusable for the last several years. An organization of concerned neighborhood pet owners who call themselves the Friends of the Upper Douglass Dog Park have raised funds for much needed repairs to the drainage system of the frequently flooded park, but many feel that the Parks and Recreations department has not used this grant money wisely. James Cooley, the spokesperson for the Friends of the Upper Douglass Dog Park, has gone on record saying that the department did not listen to the advice of the residents and that the promised repairs, such as a more resilient and dog friendly lawn choice and larger pipes in the drainage system, were not properly executed. Today, the park remains shut down often, and the playground on the lower side of the park is also frequently flooded and closed. The Parks department spokesperson Connie Chan states that the hotly contested drainage system is not the reason for the closure, attributing it instead to unfortunate weather all over the city.

If your dog park is flooded, fickle, or just too big to fit into your busy daily schedule, let us pamper your pet at Citizen Canine dog daycare, where we’re always up for a little quality playtime.