Dog Blog note, 1/26 I'm adding an example of the good a fenced dog park can do for an area. This one is at the Congressional Cemetery in Washington, D.C.

By now dog lovers have probably seen the ADN story about an effort to turn a little-used municipal park into a fenced dog park.

What do you think of the idea?

Chris Constant's idea is to turn just part of Earl and Muriel King Park into the city's first fenced dog park. As a resident of the area, he thinks having a steady flow of dogs and owners in the area will discourage people who currently use the park as a place to hang out and drink.

Not all non-dog owners are thrilled with the idea. One person commented on the story that she'd prefer an area where her kids could play. Chris is taking that into account. He thinks part of the existing park could be used for a more traditional park area. Once the drinkers are cleared out, he says, the park will once again be safe for children to play.

Some of the other negative comments on the story come from people who are unfamiliar with modern dog parks, many of which have proven wildly popular and successful Outside. There are strict rules for those parks, and users themselves enforce them. Rule #1 is clean up after your pet. A fenced dog park will be kept far cleaner than the existing park, which is littered with broken booze bottles and dog poop as it is.

If and when the idea gets off the ground, Chris is going to need lots of volunteer help. One of the first things he'll need is an architect or landscape architect who can volunteer some time to help develop the site plan graphics. If you know of anyhow who can do that, have them contact Chris at constant@alaska.net.