Going to the dogs can be good

Coeur d'Alene takes its dogs seriously. It has four parks for the pups — Central Bark, Riverstone Dog Park, McEuen Dog Park, Atlas Dog Park and Cherry Hill Dog Park.

Why, the City by the Lake is so dog-friendly, maybe it should be renamed Cur d'Alene.

But neighbor Post Falls, with all its assets and amenities, remains starkly dog parkless. The pooches got no place to play; no designated sites where two-leggeds and four-leggeds frolic with reckless abandon, sidestepping impromptu poo, of course.

Even though Post Falls leaders have pontificated on potential pooch parks for many years, fenced fields have yet to come to fruition for Fido. They got agonizingly close last week, narrowly voting down what looked like a near-perfect site known as Singing Hills.

Neighbors pointed out that the park could become a nuisance. Imagine, some said, waking up at 4 a.m. when happy pups start yapping. And, yes, you might have more traffic, because some of those canines will be imports, not just local neighborhood beasts from across the streets.

There is no evidence that the plot against a single dog park thus far is the result of anti-growth fears. More dogs equal more people, the rumor goes. Make your community too attractive and next thing you know, there's a damned dog park on every corner.

What Max and Buddy and Lucky and Lucy would recommend, however, is that before anybody snaps too viciously at a dog park proposal, they should check one out for themselves.

They might find that barking is minimal. Humans tend to interact, even become friends if they're fairly frequent visitors. Verily, there may be poop, but that's a small price to pay for the many bounties a public dog park presents.

Here's hoping Post Falls can sniff out a suitable location soon, knowing that not everybody will wag their tail about any site selection.