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•
Wasosaa
1?,aitt ei#oys Iler beaided
Molly and .11,Tor nian.
ome area parks designated especially for dogs
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their owners) include:
6
Bark Park is off Joslyn Road,
on Road. The Bark Park has a 7-
ff-1
activities. It contains a
r off
1 ' *rig hole and two trails. Proper
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i ccinations are required, adults must
all ,*Res, and dogs must be
tcle permit needed for
tall (248) 858-0906
•
ark is
i a 12-acre, fenced
ng itails• Dogs must be accom-
Oder than 18. Lyon Oaks is at
between Old Plank and
n Township Dog Park i s at 40700
Road, between Canal Road and
oad. The 1.5-acre fenced area is
Residents pay $10 and the non-
,:
For information, call (586) 286-
•
t Pauline Street and 12 Mile Road,
rtes a one-acre fenced portion of the
eh use. The area includes a water
e",s and poopei-scooper bags. The park
dogs licensed with the city clerk's
are separate fees for resident and non-
rrnation, call (586) 574-4557.
West Bloomfield residents are close to
gaining approval for a new dog park.
JENNIFER LOVY
Special to the Jewish News
T
he dogs may not remember it, but their
owners will tell you about the good old
days when as many as 35 people and their
pups met at a local high school to walk
on the track while their dogs frolicked within the
fenced perimeter — leash-less.
But leash laws put a stop to those Sunday morning
romps and launched the dog lovers on a year-long
crusade to establish an off-leash dog park in West
Bloomfield.
What began as a grassroots campaign turned into
a highly organized (and successful) endeavor. Now,
Parks for Urban Puppies (PUPS), is extremely close
to having a permanent place for their four-legged
friends to run and play sans the constraints of a leash
while their humans socialize.
The undertaking involved 50 volunteers, divided
into subcommittees, in an effort to push the initia-
tive through township hall.
"We've gone from a grassroots organization to a
political force," said PUPS Chairperson Jane Raitt, a
West Bloomfield resident and the owner of Norman
and Mollee, two bearded collies.
When Raitt first approached the West Bloomfield
Township Parks and Recreation Commission with
the idea, she was told local ordinances would have to
be changed since all dogs were required to remain on
leashes in public areas. She was also told to draft a
petition in support of an off-leash park and return it
with 200 signatures. PUPS collected 700.
Subsequently, PUPS, in conjunction with the
Parks and Recreation Commission, researched other
dog parks — in 1999 there were more than 500
across the country and more than 200 in the plan-
ning stages — and worked diligently toward making
the off-leash park a reality.
The township board has approved the first and
second readings of the amended dog leash ordinance
to allow an off-leash area. The West Bloomfield
Planning Commission must also give the go ahead.
Barring any holdups, more than three acres of
township land, known as Kamer Farm, will be con-
verted into a fenced-in, off-leash dog park. If all goes
according to plan, the park will be open this summer.
Karner Farm, located on Halsted between Maple
and Walnut Lake roads, also houses the township's
community garden. Once established, it will be the
third dog park of its kind in Oakland County.
Two years ago, seven acres of Orion Oaks County
6/7
2002
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