In this Issue:
- Dog News - Report on Official Unleashed Areas
- TJ Paws Grand Opening / Dog PAC Benefit
- Important Events: General Membership Meeting / 4th Doggie Doo Dah Day & much more
- Dog Faire
- Dog Food Tasting
- Cyberhund!
- Membership Report
- Volunteer Now...please
- Now, To the Sublime...
Dog News
As reported in the last issue of the The Scoop, a joint meeting of the City & County Parks Commissions was held in August to consider adoption of a recommendation that the following parks and beaches be designated for off-leash use on an experimental basis:
- The Beach between the stairs at Shoreline Park and Mesa Lane steps
- Hale Park, located on Camino Viejo on the Riviera
- Rincon County Beach, west of the beach access ramp
If approved, these recommendations will create new areas for lawful off-leash recreation in addition to the current leash-free parks (Wilcox/DFP and Las Positas). The first 2 of these locations fall under the jurisdiction of the City Parks Commission while Rincon Beach is in the County's jurisdiction. The City Parks Commission approved the beach area and the Hale Park location for a one-year trial basis for legal off-leash use. This recommendation now must undergo environmental review and, ultimately, approval by the City Council before becoming official. The County Parks Commission was unable to reach a decision at the August meeting and met again in late September to consider the Rincon Beach location. The Commission voted to seek more information from the Parks Department on how to manage the Rincon location, before recommending the plan to the county supervisors. If the County Parks Commission ultimately recommends this location for legal off-leash dog use, it would then require approval by the County Board of Supervisors before becoming final. No date has yet been set for the reconsideration of the proposal by the County Parks Commission. All dog owners owe a debt of gratitude to City Parks Commissioner Beebe Longstreet, County Parks Director Jennifer Briggs, and to County Parks Commissioners Judy Johnson, Gene Peterson, and especially Suzanne Perkins, who were instrumental in articulating the rights of Santa Barbara dog owners - as a political constituency - to use public open space for off-leash exercise and recreation. As is obvious from the lengthy processes required for the passage of any proposals for off-leash dog areas, there will be several public hearings to follow. Please make an effort to contact Dog PAC to find out about upcoming meetings - we need your support in order to gain passage of these important recommendations and to make them work if and when they become legal. |
*Important Events*
General Membership Meeting
Come one, come all to the open membership meeting! This is your chance to meet other Dog PAC members, to hear about current events, to let us know your ideas and concerns, and to let our dogs play together too! We will meet Saturday, November 7th at Las Positas Park at 1:00pm. Please join us for this crucial and important effort! For this event, Jerry Shalhoob, owner of Shalhoob Meat Company (220 Gray Avenue), has donated a 20 pound turkey to be raffled off! Raffle tickets will be made available to all members and guests who register at the meeting. Guests, of course, will be invited to join the membership at that time. Holders of raffle tickets must be present at the time of the drawing to win. We thank Jerry for his generous support!
Doggie Doo Dah Day
In addition, if you would like to help out after (or instead of) the meeting, we are sponsoring our 4th "Doggie Doo Dah Day." Volunteers for the Doo Dah Day will scoop poop at our off-leash legal parks (DFP and Las Positas), and distribute poop bags and information to dog walkers. Volunteers for this important event will assemble at 2:00pm, following the General Membership Meeting of November 7th, at Las Positas park. From there we will go to the different parks together. Dog PAC will provide bags and scoopers. We need your continued show of support. Please volunteer!
Dog Faire!
Come to the Dog Faire, Sunday, October 25th from 10am - 4pm at MacKenzie Park (State and Las Positas). Admission is free. This event benefits the Dog Adoption Welfare Group (DAWG) and features low cost vaccinations, city and county dog licensing (with waiver of all late fees), local craftspeople and pet related gifts, tri-tip lunch and bake sale, a Halloween costume contest for dogs (11 am), and many raffles and prizes! In addition, Dog PAC will have a booth at the Faire, featuring t-shirt sales and the auction of a $250 Beanie Baby that was generously donated. For more information about the Faire, call Irma (687-2720) or Pearl (962-0502).Board of Directors Meetings
All Dog PAC members are invited and encouraged to attend Board meetings! Meeting dates for the quarter are November 3rd, December 1st, and January 5th; all meetings take place at 6:30pm. For information on meeting locations, please contact Dog PAC using the information at the bottom of this newsletter.
TJ Paws Grand Opening / Dog PAC Benefit
Please join us on October 31st from 10am to 7pm at TJ Paws in Santa Barbara. TJ Paws is Santa Barbara's newest self-serve pet grooming center, located at 2601 De La Vina (corner of Constance and De La Vina). This Grand Opening celebration will include a ribbon cutting ceremony by Mayor Miller at 3pm and raffle tickets ($10 each) for dog grooming supplies and free pet washes. TJ Paws has generously agreed to donate half of the proceeds from this Grand Opening to Dog PAC so please come and support this new facility. For more information, call TJ Paws at 687-8772. |
Dog Food Tasting (by dogs only please)
Dog PAC will also have a booth at the Dog Food Tasting event to be held on Saturday, December 5th from 11am - 3pm at 922 Carpenteria Street (Sandra Williams' Public Beauty Supply, Milpas at 101) in Santa Barbara. Bring your dogs to this event where there will be assorted dog foods, homemade dog treats, and holistic and homeopathic remedies available. There are also cat and bird foods at this event.
Volunteer !
Volunteer for: Public Education: Help to distribute information, recruit members, organize those we already have, or to spearhead your own ideas that enhance the lives of dogs and people in our community! Dirty Work: Sick of being so creative? Do we have a job for you! Guaranteed free-your-mind tasks available... Give us a call!
To the Sublime...
Dog PAC members were recently granted a tour of the factory which designs and manufactures "Doggie Walk Bags" and related accessories. Big excitement surrounded the loan of a 16 ft. inflatable poop bag and an accompanying 3 ft. dog poop - for use in our Public Education efforts. Owner Chris Crossen also donated a dispenser box and various utensils for the oh-so-tidy dog owner. These items will be on display at the Dog Faire, TJ Paws Grand Opening bash, and at the Doo Dah Day. Please plan to attend these events and possibly win the most horrifyingly feculent key-chain ever "manufactured" by man or beast... Many thanks to Chris for a job well done!Cyber Dog!
Please note Dog PAC's new email address, at the bottom of this newsletter. Now it's easier than ever to get ahold of us with your comments, suggestions, and concerns!
Membership Report
Dog PAC, SB currently has 900 members! Please help us to recruit more people who are concerned about responsible dog ownership - let's reach 1,000 members by 1999!
Mark Your Calendars Now!
After the November 7th date, Dog PAC's next General Membership Meeting will be held on February 6th at 1pm. The date of our annual Spring Fling party is set for May 8th from 11am - 2pm. |
