March 06, 2008
Thursday PM

My boyfriend and I have a pit bull and a pit bull mix in town. We love taking the dogs out to D1 loop and the beach by our house for the dogs to run. We spoil our dogs and they go to work with my boyfriend every day and are two of the most socialized dogs in town because we take them everywhere. The one problem I have found though is there is no "dog park" in Ketchikan.

Every now and then we run across some dogs on a walk, and our boys get to interact for a few seconds but then the dogs are gone. Some owners are afraid of how our dogs look because they are pits and thinking of letting the dogs say hi is out of the question. It's funny when you see a pit bull wagging its tail and doing the classic dog pose of "play with me" and the other person's dog and barking and lunging at the leash and we are still look at as having the "aggressive dog" but that is off the subject.

I fantasized that the land behind the Veterinary Clinic would be transformed into a dog park so more dogs in Ketchikan could become socialized to each other. But all I see up there is "Do Not Trespass" signs. I wish there was a common place in town where we could have a dog park. I hear people all the time telling me that their dogs have never really been around other dogs. Our newest addition to our family the pit bull mix was adopted at the shelter and his old owner said he only had one interaction with another dog in town, he was 9 months old!

In such a small town it would be great to have a common place where the dogs could meet and the owners could mingle and let their dogs learn the social skills that are needed to make them a great dog. As humans we are happier when we talk to others, and the same goes for dogs. We have so many great trails but it is hard to meet other dog owners when you have so many options of where to walk your dog. We end up trying to meet up with our other dog owner friends or even going to take their dogs for the day so the kids (dogs) could go out and play.

I just want to see if this is something others are interested in? If so maybe some of us could get together to find a location that this could happen, even if it is at one of the beaches without a leash law, and every Saturday we could meet from 9-4. Just a thought.

Kimberly Morton
Ketchikan, AK

About: "Owner of a pit bull and a pit bull mix in town."

Received March 06, 2008 - Published March 06, 2008

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