Sandpoint dog owners get park trial period

SANDPOINT - It is more about dog owners than their pets.

The city's staunch opposition to allowing dogs in its parks could change if a group of dog-friendly residents can persuade city government and neighbors that there is no downside to letting dogs into parks.

The group, called "A More Dog Friendly Sandpoint," wants the city to allow leashed dogs into the city's green areas as long as their owners pick up after them.

They want to show people opposed to the idea that dog owners are responsible, and that pets are not the problem.

The city parks department has agreed to a trial run by sending the proposal to city administrators who will decide whether to forward it to city council.

If the city agrees to allow dogs on leashes to use Lakeview Park between June 1 and Oct. 31 as part of a trial period, pet owners will have a chance to sway opinion with their well-behaved pups, and by picking up poop.

That, in essence, is the bottom line, said Mandy Evans, who pushed the proposal forward.

"All this has everything to do with poop," Evans said.

When she and husband, Rick, moved to Sandpoint a few years ago, Evans noticed there was no place to romp with the family dog, a Shih Tzu named Bentley.

The couple and their small son went on hikes to air Bentley out.

Responsible pet owners could turn things around, she surmised. She and fellow dog owners formed "A More Dog Friendly Sandpoint," a group with a Facebook page and a cause.

It proposed at this week's Parks and Rec commission meeting to supply plastic bags at dispensers in the park, a few dog doo stations and signage for pet owners if the department would agree to a trial pet-on-leash project in Lakeview Park.