Is A Dog Park Fee Fair?
Not far from where I live a new park complete with an enclosed dog run opened about a year ago. It’s great because all the other enclosed dog parks are quite a bit further, the place is always busy.
When I read an article this morning about a park in Novato, CA wanting to charge dog owners an annual fee to use their dog park I thought it would be an interesting topic to discuss with Dogsters.
Novato, which is deep into devising ways to cut its $3 million budget deficit for the next fiscal year, could become the first city in Marin to impose a “pay to play” fee for its public dog park.
“Most people don’t see that we’re having difficulty in this city with our money issues,” Councilwoman Madeline Kellner said. “People are just not aware. We’re asking people to help us here. But anytime you take something that’s been free and start charging for it, people are going to get upset.”
Shinault said the city would like to have a dog park membership program up and running by July 1. If at least 67 people are willing to pay $75 for annual dog park membership, the parks department would reach its goal of $5,000 in revenue for the next fiscal year. Or, a generous resident or local business could step up with a sponsorship offer.
As you can expect, users of the dog park have not been very receptive to the idea of a new fee. The city’s Parks, Recreation and Community Services Department director, Pam Shinault, has had to deal with about 50 expense reductions in the parks budget. This has affected many groups, no one group is being singled out. However, I do wonder why cutbacks for other groups haven’t resulted in any kind of additional fees for them.
In a time when people are out of work, losing their homes, dealing with the increasingly high cost of living, being able to take your dog for some fun at the local dog park shouldn’t become a luxury for only those that can afford an imposed fee.
What to you think about the proposed fee? Give me a bark.
*Clarence and buddy at the dog park.
Honestly I would pay a fee as long as only members could visit the park, and all members were required to undergo a temperament evaluation (to make sure they are right for a dog park) and required to either have vaccinations/titers or a letter from their vet explaining why they can’t get them. If a dog displayed inappropriate behavior in the park (like attacking another dog) they should loose their membership.
There are a lot of dog-aggressive dogs who come to dog parks for “socialization” around here, and it can make for a very upsetting and potentially life-threatening trip to the park. It would make me rest a lot easier if I knew that there were temperament evaluations required of all dogs in the park.
Of course, the real key to this would have to be enforecement, which I am sure the city is not going to provide because it would cost money to. So the only way to make it worth it would be to raise the fees to an even higher amount and hire someone to make sure only members were in the park and that everything was going OK. Given that’s not going to happen, I probably would save my money and visit another free park.
Another idea to raise revenue for the park would be to start charging parking fees for the parks. Lots of parks around here do that. It’s pretty cheap, only a couple of dollars per vehicle. That way the fees would be spread over lots of different types of park goers, not just dog park visitors.
Where I live, the local Humane Society runs the dog park. There is an annual fee of $50 for up to 2 dogs, and $10 for each additional dog. They also have a $3/per dog day pass, if you just want to go once. To be able to use the park, your dog has to be at least 6 months old and show proof of current rabies vaccination. The park is locked by an electronic lock, so you have to have a code to get in. I personally think that this is the way too go. If you go alot, $50 isn’t much, and if you just want to go once in a while, you pay $3 (which is less than a latte at a coffee shop).
One of the dog parks we go to (efurry day!) has a yearly pass costing $30. It’s a pawsome park! They have a bathroom for the peeps, supply doggie poop pickup bags and garbage cans throughout, have someone coming through at least daily to clean up those stray piles and keep the landscape under control and the paths walkable (winter AND summer). The park and rec people are constantly improving this park with benches, rocks on the paths, trees, fence upkeep, there is a hose with fresh water for drinking and rinsing off, etc.
If you choose not to get the yearly pass, there is a daily fee of $5.
These are strictly enforced as well – the peeps must have their park pass in the car window or face big fines!
We feel very lucky to have this park and it’s a small price to pay for such a great place!
One of the other parks we go to is free – all volunteer based. We are some lucky pups!
Fees are fine. My owners are happy to pay an annual fee to the county for a big park to bring me to whenever we want to get out to exercise and socialize. The regulars love to meet there and we invite our friends who come out once in awhile and they can pay a couple bucks for a pass for the day.
I think a small fee of 50 cents admission each day or an annual pass is ok as long as it does go to the upkeep of the park and what ever toys are provided.
I’d be happy to pay to take my dog to the park if everyone else has to pay to use whatever parks and park amenities their lifestyle necessitates: joggers and bikers have to pay to use the trails, parents have to pay for their kids to play on the jungle gym, etc.
I’d be especially happy if my paying meant that all the dogs at the park were licensed and had to prove they’d had their shots! Or perhaps we could just require that they all BE licensed and let the license fee cover park usage (since only a minuscule number of dogs here in the States are licensed, if we enforced this at the park and ticketed unlicensed dogs the $ would roll in).
There are no free dog parks anywhere around here. And while we don’t mind paying an annual fee, I just wish some of the parks would keep their costs lower. $140 a year is ridiculous. Especially since no one will be going out there during the winter months.
There are no dog parks at all where I live.I would be happy to take by guys to a dog park where I pay a fee ($5 – 10/mo) and get a swipe card or something to that effect. In return the park would have to be monitored and improved like the one Roxy goes to and not allow skate boarders etc. it would be super cool if there were areas that you could practice agility, rally o and stuff (hey may as well dream big!)
In my suburb, privately owned dog parks are the only option. The one I belong to charges $139/year, which I think is rediculous, but I joined anyway. I don’t have a fenced-in yard. It’s a half mile from my house so I guess the convenience is worth it. I think that giving my dog a place to run free and socialize with other dogs is a part of being a responsible pet parent.
One of our local dog parks is in the midst of determining whether to start charging a fee. The “proposed” fee is $150 a year, with an option to pay a “per day” rate. In addition, the local government wants to establish new rules that would only allow dogs to be off-leash on limited days and hours. A group of dog owners raised funds to put up the initial investment to convert a portion of an existing “people” park into a dog park..now they are up in arms, of course, that the local government wants to take over control of the park that they invested in. Should be interesting to see how it all turns out.
The dog park we go to is actually part of a bigger multi-purpose park. There is a “fee” of $5 per year to use any part of the park – there are sports areas, walking trails, the dog park and a fishing lake. Compared to some of the prices people listed here so far, $5 is not a fee at all, but I guess it covers the cost of the stick I get for my windshield.
I would be willing to pay more as long as the money was going toward improvement and upkeep of the park(s). If it shot over $50, however, I’d have to reconsider. I love the experience of the dog park and how much fun my boy has there, but a few extra walks throughout the walk is free
I meant to say the *sticker* I get for my windshield… not the stick. Oops. Thought of something else as well… if I was paying more, I’d also like to see it enforced that the animals are properly vaccinated. Our park lists that as a requirement on the rules sign at the gate, but it’s not monitored so you never know.
Where I used to live, we had a pay-to-use dog park. It had an electronic lock with a swipe card, and dogs and to prove vaccination status to use the park…as well as adhere to rules about behavior. We had to renew every year just to get re-evaluated as far as vaccination status and behavior were concerned.
It was great! To enforce the behavior thing, there was a small band of anonymous users called the “Bark Patrol” who would talk to owners whose dogs were being unreasonable, and had the ability to revoke priviledges for bad behavior or NOT picking up after your pooch. It was amazing.
I’m totally willing to pay a fee to use a good park like the one we used to go to. There were always poop bags, things were well-maintained, and dogs were very well behaved. Since I’ve moved and gone back to a free dog park, I haven’t been very much at all. There aren’t the fees to keep things well-maintained or to enforce the rules, and now people just dump their dogs in the park and go do other park activities, don’t pick up after their dogs, etc. Plus there is a drainage problem that there are not the funds to fix.
I think charging for using the dog park is a great idea, provided users get something out of the deal as well.
As long as vaccine history of all dogs had to be submitted at the time of registration, and there was someone employed by the park there at all times to enforce the rules, as well as having the authority to remove aggressive dogs from the park, yes i would pay to use a dog park.
I’m so sick of sharing dog parks with absolutely clueless owners who think that the dog park exists to let dogs mingle without supervision! I watch my dogs like a HAWK when i take them to the park! I’ve been bitten by an aggressive dog, and the owner was no where to be found!
I’ve given up on dogparks now, I go to my vets office, where i rent the agility field for $5 per dog (i have 4) for one hour of safe playtime!
All of the dog parks in Jacksonville charge a fee. You can pay a daily fee of like $10 or you can get a membership. I think that runs like $130 a year. I do think it’s a little outrageous to charge that much money, but it gets used to keep the park looking nice and safe for the dogs.
I’m only a few minutes from the largest dog park in the U.S. (Point Isabel, Richmond CA). It’s free, has a coffee shop, bathrooms, pet store, dog washing facility, poop bags and garbage containers, and I’d say 99% of the owners self-police. I’d gladly pay for a such a wonderful place (and I do donate to the owners org), but–as I said earlier–if I had to pay, then I’d want all the parks to have a use fee.
I would pay that fee if it were in my area. Our Dog Park here costs $30 a month and it’s not even that great.
Dog parks are free here, people parks have a per-day fee that includes parking. If there was off-street parking at the dog park by our house, then people could pay a per-day fee, or go under the yearly $35.00 all park pass that the county sells. We get the yearly pass because we like to go to the lake and river parks a lot. The dog parks would have to include improvements in maintenance and supervision though before I’d pay anything more. Property taxes should be enough.
how about just adding say $5-$10 onto the license fee. That way everyone who could benefit would share the cost and it wouldn’t be a hardship for the folks who might be just scraping by.
If I had to pay just to take my dog to a public dog park, then I’d expect someone to pick up my dogs crap for me. I think paying to go to a park is ridiculous! Thats like paying a fee to let your kid play on the playground. it’s stupid. I can see paying a small fee for a dog tag (which is what we do) just so you have proof that your dog is up to date on shots, but other than that I will never pay to go to a park.
I think my Mom would pay the fee for me to be able to go to the dog park. BUT !!! There aren’t any dog parks anywhere nearby
It would be really nice if there was a place for me to have friends to play with.
I do not live in Marin, but go to the Novato dog park on my way through, a break from the car. My general feeling is that my of the respondees and myself are financially fit enough to have internet and computers, but working in a public library I know that many people are suffering. Where will they get to go. Will all our parks be the bastion of the employed and their dogs? What about people passing through. I think it would be better to spread the tax out through licensing, small tax increases and keep access free.