With the addition of an adorable, unbelievably well behaved, smart beyond comprehension, 10 week rescued old boxer mix puppy to my household this past week (pictured), my interest in all things dog has gone up tenfold. On the neighborhood front, I’ve joined the Dogs of Greater Shaw Yahoo! Group and am very happy to know that these good canine owners are working on behalf of our neighborhood pups. I’ll report back on notable plans, actions and events relating to this group, and encourage other concerned dog owners to register.Good dogs and dog owners can be a real asset to a community. Dog-walking produces foot traffic which in turn helps reduce crime (indeed there is talk in the Dogs of Greater Shaw Group about coordinating dog walks with community watch groups). We hope that our puppy can be trained to be a therapy dog to help out at local hospitals. Other examples of how dogs enhance society abound.
Currently, we have a lot to do to make our neighborhood more dog friendly. The Dogs of Greater Shaw group is working towards achieving a dog park in the neighborhood, which is a very desirable, much needed, community-building amenity. Better litter pickup (including picking up those pesky chicken bones!) and more trash cans throughout the neighborhood are less obvious canine needs. Rat poison should not be pet-accessible. Pet-friendly ice melting substances are needed during this season. Signage promoting responsible handling of dog waste and dog waste bag dispensers throughout the neighborhood would also be good additions.
The following is a brief list of resources for dog owners in our neighborhood. If you know of any others, chime in!
Shaw Dog Resources
1. Dogs of Greater Shaw Yahoo! Group - Our very own dog/dog owners group!
2. City Paws Animal Hospital - Wonderful vet/animal hospital close by.
3. Dogs by Day and Night - Cageless day care and boarding facility open 24 hours, 7 days a week.
4. Wagtime - Shaw's doggie boutique offering a variety of pet products, nutritional foods, treats, toys and gifts. They also offer an array of services.
5. Licensing Requirements in D.C. - D.C. Department of Health's requirements for dog tags.
6. Dupont, Scott and Logan Circle Dog Group - our successful canine-loving neighbors, who have plans for an impressive makeover of the dog park at 17th and S/T!
7. Adams Morgan Dogs - Adams Morgan's dogs have it good: an amazing dog park and a dedicated, organized support group.
8. Binformed's Dog Park in Shaw Thread - a good resource for dog park information.
4 comments:
Your puppy is adorable! Congratulations!! :)
Forgive my ignorance, but how utilized are the fields at the Kennedy Recreation Center? Whenever I walk by, they seem empty (of course, it’s winter…). It seems that carving out a portion of the rec center’s fields for a dog park would be great—it’s centrally located and in a visible, accessible area. And with the nearby crime of late, the increased foot traffic would be awesome!
Another great asset to dog owners in the city, and a model for how to creatively use open spaces in urban places, is Congressional Cemetery. You can join the NPO that keeps up the cemetary and the K-9 Corps and allow your dog to run off-leash through its 33 fenced in acres with other dogs.
There's always a good crowd on the weekends and its lots of fun to watch the dogs run. Also, I've never seen my dog so happy (since we left Charlottesville and the wide open spaces we had there).
Congressional Cemetery is up on Capital Hill (1801 E Street, Southeast), and an easy 10 minutes in the car from Shaw up Mass Ave.
The cost is $165 (for the year) until March 1st, and then $170 afterwards - tax deductible.
While a little pricey, you're helping to keep up the cemetery (a city treasure). It's also a really nice place to walk.
http://www.cemeterydogs.org
I had never noticed how many chicken bones there are littering the sidewalks until I got a puppy. It's a landmine out there!
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