01/14/2007 – A Comparison Of Suffolk County And Other Counties’ Support For Dog Parks


01/14/07  (updated 05/07/08)

A Comparison Of Suffolk County And Other Counties’ Support For Dog Parks

 

Nowadays, when virtually all city and county governments have websites, it’s easy to gauge how well they support their citizens’ favorite activities. County Park websites often proudly list and describe a myriad of popular outdoor activities and planned events for county residents to participate in. LI-DOG has researched several other counties to see how well they support their dog owning citizens and get a good idea of how well Suffolk County compares to other counties across the United States. The table below compares the number of dog parks to the population numbers for those counties. The following data came from the websites for those counties, which are listed below, and US Census data.

County Number of dog parks Population 2005
Orange County, California 9 (one is a mile long dog beach) 2,988,072
Kings County, Washington 1 (forty acre park) 1,793,583
Oakland County, Michigan 2 (one 13 acre, one 14 acre) 1,214,361
Orange County, Florida 3 + 1 future park scheduled 1,023,023
Fairfax County, Virginia 7 1,006,529
Pinellas County, Florida 6 928,032
Fairfield County, Connecticut 8 (17 acres for dogs at one park) 902,775
Mecklenburg County, NC. 4  (4, 4, 1, and 5 acres) 796,372
Anne Arundel County, MD. 5 510,878
Ramsey County, MN 4  (4, 10, 10, and 13 acres) 494,920
Boulder County, Colorado 13 280,440
Douglas County, Colorado 6 (one is 75 acres) 249,419
Arlington County, Virginia 7 195,965
Charles County, MD. 2 138,822
Suffolk County, New York 2 (1.75, 1.8 acres) 1,474,927

 

Let’s take a look at the activities listed and supported on the Suffolk County Parks system website.

http://www.co.suffolk.ny.us/departments/parks.aspx

The following is a list of counties that proudly list the off-leash dog parks and recreational opportunities they provide their dog loving citizens. Many of the websites have photos of citizens enjoying the off-leash parks with their dogs, as well the amenities they provide.

http://www.orangecounty.net/html/pets_rec.html (California)

http://www.kingcounty.gov/recreation/parks/inventory/marymoor.aspx

http://www.oakgov.com/parksrec/activities/dogpark.html

http://www.orangecountyfl.net/cms/DEPT/CEsrvcs/parks/dogparks.htm (Florida)

http://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/parks/offleash.htm

http://www.pinellascounty.org/park/paw_playgrounds.htm

http://www.fairfieldcountyonline.com/directory/petsandpetsupplies/dog-parks/

http://www.charmeck.org/Departments/Park+and+Rec/Parks/Dog+Parks/Home.htm

http://www.aacounty.org/RecParks/parks/dogparks/

http://www.co.ramsey.mn.us/parks/parks/offleash.htm

http://www.getboulder.com/sports/sports_dogparks.html

http://www.douglas.co.us/publicworks/parksandtrails/Dog_Off_Leash.html

http://www.arlingtonva.us/Departments/ParksRecreation/scripts/dogs/ParksRecreationScriptsDogsDeaLocations.aspx

http://www.charlescounty.org/pf/pg/parks/dogpark/default.htm

http://www.clackamas.us/dogs/parks.htm

http://www.greatparks.org/parks/armlederpark.htm

If you believe that off-leash recreation is just as valid as other forms of outdoor recreation and that it’s time for Suffolk County to catch up to the rest of the United States in recognizing the value it provides its citizens write Suffolk County Executive Steve Levy and the Suffolk County Parks Department and let them know how you feel. Also, let your local legislator know how important off-leash areas are to you and your dogs. The only way we are going to change Suffolk County’s attitude towards dog owners is if they hear from every one of us.

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