Bring your dog(s) and come join us for the Dog PAC, SB annual Spring Fling, to be held May 21st at 11:00 am at the Singleton Day Camp in Elings Park (formerly Las Positas Park). At this year’s Spring Fling we will hold the Dog PAC Annual Meeting and elections. Most importantly, though, this will be a fun day for dogs and people!!

Among the many activities at the Spring Fling will be:

• Therapy Dog and Canine Good Citizen Testing. Call Mary Anne (565-8700) if you need a brush-up lesson.
• Microchip implants will be offered by Noah’s Ark Veterinary clinic, to help locate your dog if he or she is ever lost. A portion of the proceeds will be donated to Dog PAC.
• Agility and obedience demonstrations. Give your dog a chance on the agility equipment!
• Practice ring set up for obedience run-throughs!
• Raffles, vendors, and prizes!

In addition, the following people have been nominated to serve in various capacities:

Officers: President: Mary Anne Morrison, M. Ed. Vice-President: Andrew Flanagin, Ph.D. Secretary: Donna O’Toole Treasurer: Tracey Bock

Board of Directors: Patti Crisp (Behavioral/Dog Sports Issues) Andy Dainsberg, DVM (Veterinary Liaison) Steve Eltinge, Ed. D. (Elings Liaison) Lee Heller, Ph.D. (Shelter Liaison) Michelle Holmes (Agility Liaison) Lisa Kelly (DFP/Environmental Liaison) Deana Lancaster (Veterinary Liaison) Shirley Lee (Licensing Issues) Miriam Metzger, Ph. D. Mary Oakley (Public Education Booths) Kristi Solberg (Vendors and T-shirts) Bren Spies (Veterinary Liaison)

And of course thank you to our many sponsors! SB Dog Sports Agility Training by Michelle 3 Dog Bakery Noah’s Ark Veterinary Clinic The Pet Barn TJ Paws Pet Wash & Groom Santa Barbara Flyers The Dogs’ Best Friend St. Francis Pet Hospital Pets n Pals, La Cumbre Plaza And Elings Park (thanks for letting us be here!)

In Other News...

Public Park Status Report: DFP (Wilcox)

The DFP remains an off-leash park while it undergoes the review process to determine the final requirements for leashing dogs on that property. Although the DFP has been reported to be cleaner than ever before, please make a special effort to encourage Clean-up, Courtesy, and Control when on the property. Leash your dogs when you come and go, and do not let your dogs wander into neighbors’ yards!

Elings (Las Positas) Park. Still off-leash for now. Please do not let your dogs out of your car in the parking lot unleashed. Also, do not let your dogs onto the athletic fields during games or in the children’s playground areas.

If you are a frequent user of Elings, please consider donating to the Park in your dog’s name. This park is privately funded and donations make a big difference.

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Barking Dog Ordinance

Dog PAC and area trainers testified recently against a proposed S.B. County Ordinance that contained language advocating euthanasia for dogs and possible jail time for owners of "nuisance barkers." Although we agree that nuisance barking is a serious problem, our testimony urged an educational intervention (much like Traffic School) to curtail the problem way before such measures as euthanasia and jail time become necessary!

The Board of Supervisors unanimously approved this approach, and work has begun to develop a pamphlet, video, and curriculum for first time offenders. We thank the entire Board of Supervisors and Jan Glick and Jerry Pearson, County Animal Services, for their willingness to collaborate with the dog community in devising creative and effective means of dealing with these difficult issues. Thank you!

Thank You!

Thank you to Herb Fox, out-going President and Founder of Dog PAC, SB, for all his hard work and creativity. Herb will now serve as legal counsel to Dog PAC. Thank you also to Vicki Godlewski for her tenacious efforts on behalf of the DFP property and her work to keep that property AS IS! You guys are the greatest – we thank you, and our dogs thank you too.Fundraising and Volunteers

We are an entirely volunteer organization in our 4th year whose membership has grown to around 1,400 people. If you have a skill that you’d like to share with us, please call Lisa @ 569-1714. If you have no time, but would like to donate money in support of our efforts, we need that too!

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Special Benefits for Dog PAC Members

• Pets and Pals (La Cumbre Plaza) has agreed to give Dog PAC members a 15% discount on pet products when they present a card that Dog PAC will provide to members donating $50.00 or more.
• PET Barn (State St.) will give all Dog PAC members a 5% discount on all products when they announce their membership in Dog PAC.

BIG DOG Parade!

The annual Santa Barbara Big Dog Parade will take place on June 3rd starting at 9:00 am. PLEASE march with us wearing your Dog PAC t-shirt (available from Kristi @ 682-1822, or at our booth at the parade). We need volunteers for both marching with dogs and helping -- please call Mary Anne (565-8700) to volunteer. See you at our booth in De La Guerra Plaza at 8:00-8:30 a.m. on Saturday, June 3rd !

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Our dogs need a (web)master!

Dog PAC is looking for a volunteer to maintain our (horribly out of date) web site. If you have the skills and interest, and would like to volunteer a few hours a month to the PAC, please let us know!

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Dog-friendly Rental

Charming, 2 bedroom, Samarkand Cottage with hardwood floors and fireplace. Guest house and 2 car garage, 2 fenced yards, gardener included. Available either furnished or unfurnished. Prefer responsible dog owner. 565-8700 leave message.