I agree that MAC will probably not allow us to have a garbage can on the premises. But I do think we should open a dialog with them for several reasons: to thank them for the use of the property, to let them know that many of us are concerned about the state of the grounds as well, and to get our facts from the source rather than relying on hearsay.

Again, I don’t think anyone has suggested that MAC needs to do anything more than what they’re already doing. Nobody that I’ve talked to expects oversight or monitoring.

Thanks for your post! I think we all want the same thing in the end–to do what it takes to ensure that our access to this wonderful property isn’t jeopardized by a careless few.

The biggest thanks we can give them is to keep the property clean. Keep it simple! Let’s pick up an extra poop every time we visit. Also Susan Bonne’s idea to have an “April Poop Day” is the greatest! Let’s start to organize that ASAP.

See you at the park!

I think a good campaign to let other dog owners know that they are responsible for picking up after their dogs is the best approach.

We could also all chip in and pick up a “community poop” ourselves. If you see poop and have a bag, pick it up.

Does anyone know how to establish a PayPal account for this sort of thing? I could put a link here on the blog.

A) we make paypall an option. Can we create an “airportdogpark@” address with paypall? That’s a lot easier to remember than the complications of actually writing a check and then remembering the address to send it too! I never used Justin’s volunteer service, but i after he started offering the service, the bag volume just kept growing and growing. People were taking advantage of the service and using it as the rule, not exception.

B) That we request a reccomended amount. What would cover expenses… $25/year? $40/year? Or perhaps the grand number.. say (i’m pulling out of the air here) $3,500/year total expense. If we could educate park users as to the cost, perhaps well meaning citizens would have a better appreciation for why their donations mean so much.

C) If the MAC were amenable to a garbage stall, perhaps ask if we could build an aesthetic box outside the gates and allow for say, “three” garbage can sized allowances to elimiate future overflow. It’s not their problem if we’ve got overflow problems and we should just anticipate the worse volume and take responsiblity for it with them. Then deal with the volume issues on our own.

D) I would like to request of the watch-dog group that we ask for permission to posts a “proper protocol” sign. Suggestions to include: no dogs in heat, “dominant or agressive” behavior unacceptible, in case of an incident, exchange info. Perhaps some awareness development suggestions for clueless owners – the larger the pack, the greater a chance of incident, keep walking/moving. be aware of toy possessiveness of your dogs, etc. What might be obvious to some of us, appears to not always be obvious to others….

E) I would personally support an annual “thank you” of some small token of our collective appreciation to be sent to the MAC. They ask for nothing in exchange, it’s a complete win-win, and if we all donated even $2, we could get a wonderful thank you gift for them.

Everything else aside i LOVE the park. I just wish the agressive dog rate was not as high as it always appears…