If you find suspected poison, please contact
the Mesa Police at 480-644-2211 and tell them that Mesa Animal Control
has requested that they do an official evidence collection of the
substance. Do not touch or move it and wait at the location for the
Police to collect it officially.
Poison
Please keep watch for suspicious
activity or substances. Suspicious activity would include dropping
things on the grounds of the
park or along the canal. Suspicious substances would include any food
substance with visible granules . Strychnine baits are often granular,
often with a purple, red, or green dye.
Poop
Always carry waste clean up bags when
you walk your dog. Carry extras and if you see someone not scooping,
offer them a bag. Always assume that the person was in a hurry and
forgot their bag or that their dog had an unplanned for "bonus". Offer
the bag without judgment or argument. With the information on this
site, you can inform them of the environmental and health impact of
un-scooped poop - maybe they just don't know! If you have a bag out to
clean up after your dog and there is a nearby pile, pick that up also.
With the "Two for One" approach, our community can make a difference
for everyone!
People
If you see someone who is not
practicing responsible dog parenting, speak up! Once again, don't be
judgmental or argumentative, just let them know that if we don't all
work together, poisoning incidents could increase or the City of Mesa
could ban dogs from our park. Remind them that some people are have
legitimate reasons to be afraid of dogs and that it should be
everyone's right to us the park in peace.
Responsible Dog Ownership
Some have speculated that one of the reasons why someone may be poisoning
dogs near Carriage Lane Park is because they are frustrated with
irresponsible dog owners. Of course, that is no reason to react in
such an ugly, inappropriate, and incredibly harmful way, but that does
not absolve us of the responsibility to make sure that our community
park and the nearby canal are safe and fun places for everyone that uses them.
Oh, poop!
As
in most parks and communities, Carriage Lane Park has a problem with
dog owners not picking up their pet's waste. There are times when
going to the park is like walking through a minefield of poop. Even
dog owners and dog lovers become frustrated with this. Unfortunately, many
people mistakenly believe that their dog's waste will simply dry up and
blow away or is good fertilizer.
Dog waste can take days or
weeks to dry - and who wants to step in it? It actually takes up to
one year for dog waste to thoroughly disintegrate - you may not see it,
but it's still there. Unlike vegetarian farm animals whose waste is
processed for use as fertilizer, dogs are carnivorous animals with
harmful bacteria in their digestive system. Parasites and bacteria can
remain in the soil for several years. Any one, human or animal, who
comes in contact with the soil also comes in contact with infected eggs
or bacteria.
Parasites in canine fecal matter can include
Giardia or Salmonella. Your dog may not show any symptoms, but is
simply a host for the these organisms. Bacterial infections can
include Parvo. Most dogs are vaccinated against Parvo, but young
puppies and un-vaccinated dogs are at great risk, since Parvo bacteria
can spread quickly (between neighbor's yards for example).
We
are lucky to have a duck pond (i.e. retention basin) at Carriage Lane
Park. Dog waste left in the soil can be carried by rain or irrigation
runoff and enter not only our "lake", but also our groundwater. Just
as we don't want human sewage in our water, it is important to prevent
pet waste from being carried into our waterways because of negligence.
The decay of pet waste in our water bodies promotes weed and algae
growth, reduces oxygen levels in the water, and affects fish and
waterfowl.
"Oh, don't worry - he's friendly!"
There
have been complaints from park users about people letting their dog
just run up to them or their dogs. People with friendly, loving dogs
may think that these people are overreacting, but please remember to
think about their possible point of view. Perhaps your dog's intended
canine playmate is aggressive, even though yours is not. Having a dog
charge up to them causes unnecessary stress to that dog owner, who is
worried about your "friendly" dog being hurt or your "friendly" dog
fighting back, possibly resulting in injury to their dog. Nobody likes
vet bills and even (perhaps especially), aggressive dogs need and
deserve walks, on a leash of course. Perhaps the other dog has been
attacked by a dog of similar size or breed as your dog. Can you
imagine how terrifying that would be? There are even cases of
aggressive Labrador Retrievers - a breed which most people believe to
be very docile and friendly.
Don't cause other canine or human
park users unnecessary stress by allowing your dog to run up to anyone,
on or off leash. It's true, it's hard to play frisbee on a leash. It
is illegal to let your dog off leash in most community parks. But if
you choose to let your dog off leash in an area which is not fenced and
designated as a dog park, be sure your dog is under adequate voice
control. Stay attentive so that you see others before your dog does.
Train your dog to respond to important off leash commands such as
"sit", "stay", "leave it", and, of course, "come". If your dog is not
responsive to voice commands, keep him/her on a leash and save your
frisbee time for the a designated and fenced dog park.
