For the love of Laguna’s dogs

The Recreation Committee is planning to recommend to the City Council

that dogs be prohibited from Village Green Park and possibly Lang

Park.

The committee cites complaints about dog feces and leashless dogs

in toddler play areas.

It threw dog lovers a bone by deciding to recommend investigation

into a dog and people park behind South Coast Medical Center.

Sure, there are other places to walk dogs, and yes, a dog and

people park is a nice idea, but there is something fundamentally

wrong with banning dogs from an area previously free to them. It

smacks of an ism. Dogism, is it?

It’s mean-hearted and unnecessary. People need to follow leash

laws and clean up after their pets. If that’s the problem, address

the problem (sometimes laws have to be enforced) but don’t ruin the

fun for everyone else. Besides, try to stop the cats from using the

playground sand at night. It would be more effective if there was a

program for cleaning the sand rather than banning the dogs.

There is much debate over whether dogs are companions rather than

possessions. In fact, there is a move afoot in Colorado to classify

them legally as companions rather than possessions. At the very

least, they are pets and often family members. It is cruel to behave

as if people’s dogs can just stay at home, or what, go somewhere

else? Most of the streets are narrow and not conducive to taking a

dog for a walk.

It seems almost human nature to forget about people’s feelings,

and even easier to ignore canine emotions. But we have a duty to

force ourselves to think about what we’re doing to people in the name

of convenience.