Pacifica Dog Park Neighbors Growl
Despite years of planning, collaboration, and compromise, many issues remain unresolved between the users of Pacifica’s first dog park and people who live and work nearby. Ongoing concerns about noise, odor, and dust have caused some neighbors of the Sanchez Dog Park to form an organization, Pacificans for Compatible Land Use (PCLU), and hire an attorney to present their concerns to the city.
The dog park was first proposed by the Pacifica Organization of Canine Helpers, or POOCH. Following the opening of Sanchez Dog Park last spring, POOCH has continued to raise funds and monitor the facility.
When neighbors complained to the city’s Parks, Beaches and Recreation Department about barking dogs and the dust they kick up, officials agreed to reduce the park’s original operating hours and install a dust-suppressing irrigation system. POOCH volunteers acknowledge the problems and some neighbors say the situation has improved, but others still would like to see the dog park moved to a different location.
The city is considering additional measures to mitigate the impacts of Sanchez Dog Park. The attorney for PCLU is asking for further discussions. At the same time, dog park users have petitioned the city to restore the park’s original hours of operation. Bay Woof will continue to follow the story.
Dogs Lower Student Stress
The therapeutic boost dogs offer for hospital patients, nursing home residents, veterans, and others in need is well documented.
Another category of people is increasingly reaping this benefit: stressed-out college students during finals week.
In December, the Helen Woodward Animal Center in San Diego sent Love on a Leash therapy dogs to California State University’s San Marcos campus to offer busy students a respite from their deadlines and exams. Studies have shown the practical value of such visits, which have become regular events at CSUSM and other colleges: interactions with therapy dogs can reduce blood pressure and relieve overall stress, helping students perform better on tests.
Love on a Leash, a program of the Foundation for Pet-Provided Therapy, also brought therapy dogs to MiraCosta College in Oceanside for the first time this year, and the trend appears to be catching on beyond Southern California. The University of San Francisco School of Law recently let students “check out” dogs for some quality one-on-one time, and a story about the new “Puppy Room” at Dalhousie University in Canada has gone viral on the Internet.
New Video Promotes BEBHS Rebuild
As most Bay Woof readers know, a devastating fire destroyed 80 percent of the Berkeley-East Bay Humane Society’s space in 2010. Of course the organization maintained 100 percent of its commitment to the area’s homeless dogs and cats, and it has been working hard to rise from the ashes ever since.
In December, BEBHS released a video detailing its plans to rebuild; you can view it here.
To learn how you can help, visit berkeleyhumane.org.
Pro-Animal Bills Pass US Senate
During its final session, the US Senate passed two important pieces of legislation aimed at improving the lives of dogs and other animals.
By unanimous voice vote, the Senate passed the Animal Fighting Spectator Prohibition Act, which would make it a federal offense to attend an organized animal fight and would impose additional penalties for bringing a minor to an animal fight.
The Senate also passed a provision to the National Defense Authorization Act which would help retired military dogs by streamlining the adoption process and authorizing veterinary care for the retired animals at no expense to taxpayers. The House passed similar language in their version of the Defense Authorization bill earlier this year.
The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals credits Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) for his “brilliant leadership” in ensuring the passage of both measures.
The House and Senate must reconcile their two versions of the Defense Authorization bill before sending it to President Obama for his signature. Additionally, the Animal Fighting Spectator Prohibition Act still must be passed by the House, where similar legislation (H.R. 2492) currently enjoys strong bipartisan support.
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Main article photo by: dogumentarian.com
