County needs bigger, better dog parks

To the Editor:

Some years back, I caved to familial pressure and agreed to bring a dog into our household. I had always had dogs while growing up — abroad — and they had enriched my life and the lives of others around the family. What I had not reckoned with was the paucity of facilities for dogs in Nassau County and its towns.

There are several important elements to understand here: firstly, the dog population locally is enormous — it is reckoned that between 30 and 40 percent of all households in the county have at least one dog. Secondly, there are three simple needs for a happy dog. To quote the “Dog Whisperer,” these are exercise, discipline and affection. Any dog given these three will be well-behaved and will repay its owners many times over. Problem dogs are not born; they are created because they are missing one or more of these elements in their life. Thirdly, the treatment of dogs by a society is a barometer of the civilization and compassion of that society.

It is therefore distressing to report that Nassau County is known among dog owners as one of the worst places in the country to own a dog. The facilities available are paltry, those that exist are insufficient and unattractive and the attitude of many of the local legislators seems to range from disinterest to outright opposition.

What are really needed are far more and bigger places for dogs to run off-leash. There are several dog runs in the county, but none are big enough to support the requirements of a number of dogs of all sizes playing and running around with each other. Suffolk County has greatly improved its off-leash facilities in recent years — it has facilities such as the one at West Hills that are large and well-equipped, and therefore immensely popular with dogs and their owners.

Is it not shameful — and illustrative — that several of the people who go there drive many miles from within Nassau County to take advantage of these facilities? Has Nassau County no interest in supporting the needs of its families? Do the towns — Hempstead, North Hempstead, Oyster Bay — that either have no or at best minimal facilities for dogs off-leash not realize that they are not providing for a large number of their constituents? Dog owners are taxpayers too, and given the numbers of dogs in the county, they represent a significant lobby.

As I stated, the current situation creates a problem of bored and frustrated dogs that can lead to unruly behavior from them. If we truly want to support dog ownership in Nassau, we need to encourage and support the welfare of the dogs, a task at which we currently singularly fail. I implore our legislators to understand the consequences of this and to push for vastly improved off-leash facilities throughout the county. I would like to invite other dog owners and lovers to push for at least one off-leash facility in every village and town in the county. The benefits will be felt by all, whether they have four legs or two.

If you want to join us in this effort, please e-mail the Long Island Dog Owners group at lidog_news@yahoo.com.

Richard Infield
Valley Stream