Another Dog Owner We Can Do Without

The lawn next to the parking circle at the end of Spinnaker Way probably gets as much foot traffic as any spot in the park.  I call it the Kite Lawn because the Highline Kites mobile store parks at the circle and the lawn is a favorite spot for kite aficionados all year round.  This lawn is a really bad place to have holes in the ground big enough to break an ankle.

Yet that’s what we have now, thanks to a clueless dog owner who let their animal try to dig up a gopher burrow.  Gopher holes, as well as ground squirrel holes, measure three inches or less in diameter, and don’t present much of a hazard to human foot traffic.  But when a dog owner lets their dog try to dig out a small animal that builds its home underground — a hopeless effort — those little holes get big enough to trap an adult human foot.  The dog can’t understand that.  Digging is part of some breeds’ DNA.  But the owner should have brains enough not to let it happen.

There isn’t much park ranger enforcement of the dog law in the park, and the signage is substandard and poorly maintained.  We’re utterly dependent on the good will and common sense of the dog owners.  As this type of vandalism shows,  we’re relying on qualities that not every owner possesses.