Montgomery County, MD Dog Parks Permit Fee

I am a frequent and long time user of the Montgomery County, Maryland dog parks, specifically the dog park at Black Hill Regional Park near Germantown, MD.

The four main points of contention I have with this new policy are:
1. NONE of the money from these "permits" will be used to maintain the county-run dog parks
2. The Parks and Recreation department has not been responsive to comments, requests for maintenance, or requests to limit the park to spayed and neutered dogs
3. The fees may make use of the county dog parks difficult or prohibitive for some dog owners in the current difficult economy
4. The Parks department is not even ready to put this program into place - they don't have the tags available that are supposed to be put on the dogs' collars

#1 - I realize that it takes money to maintain public parks, but the point of frustration with the new permit and fees ($40 for the first dog per household, $5 per additional dog) is that NONE of that money will be used to maintain the dogparks in Montgomery County!

As stated in this article, the money for these permits will go into a general fund for Montgomery County Parks and Recreation! Why should dog owners be charged a fee that will not benefit them at all? I never walk my dog around the rest of Black Hill Park - what he wants is to run and play off leash with other dogs. As the article states, the Wheaton dog park has a broken gate. The Black Hill dog park also needs maintenance - the metal trash cans are completely rusted and have HUGE holes in them, and in the spring and summer, the smell coming from those trash cans is awful. In addition, the trash cans are poorly placed in central places in the park, near picnic tables where people can sit in the shade. So if you want to get some shade, you have to put up with the stench. The gate could be constructed better, and this park has no pool or running wanter, and the majority of it is covered in gravel, which is messy and dusty. I'd rather have plain dirt. Or at least trash cans that aren't holier than Swiss cheese.

I emailed the parks department at the addresses provided on their web sites and received no reply. Why bother putting  email addresses up on your web site if you aren't going to reply?

#2 - It's difficult for me to call and wait on hold while I'm at work, so I have filled out comment cards at Black Hill Dog Park and have also emailed the parks department several times asking that they add a rule making the county run dog parks available only to spayed and neutered dogs. I have seen problems develop far too many times with an intact male or female dog is brought in. Doggie day cares only accept spayed or neutered dogs because it's known that bringing an intact dog into a group of spayed or neutered dogs is likely to cause tension and increase the chances of a fight breaking out. I have seen this many times, and last week had to break up a fight between a 2 year old intact dog and my neutered dog. I have been taking my dog to this park for over a year, and he has never before been involved in a fight, either at this park or elsewhere.

#3 - In the current difficult economy, some people are struggling to make ends meet and provide food and necessary vet care for their dogs. Not everyone can afford to pay for their dogs to go to a doggie day care or hire a dog walker. For people that don't have yards, dog parks may be their only option to socialize and excercise their dogs at no cost. I am shocked that there are no sliding scale options for people with limited income. The Department of Parks is obviously struggling financially, and it appears that they don't care if their residents are struggling.

#4 - the Parks and Recreation department does not have tags ready to distribute to people who turn in the required paperwork and pay the fee for the dog park license. People are being given receipts and told to keep those with them to show as proof that they have complied with the new policy.

If you are a resident of Montgomery County, Maryland, and are frustrated with the new policy, please sign your name and share this with your friends.