Comment on the Maryland State Parks Proposed New Pet Policy
As part of a continuous effort to improve visitor experiences in Maryland State Parks, the State Parks Dept. has undertaken a comprehensive review of the existing pet policy and developed proposed changes. They would greatly appreciate hearing from you regarding these proposals before we finalize an implementation plan. TO COMMENT: http://dnrweb.dnr.state.md.us/publiclands/petpolicy/comment.asp
MY COMMENT TO THE MD STATE PARKS DEPT. REGARDING ALLOWING DOGS IN ALL (not just 10%) PARKS:
Thank you for revisiting your pet policy in State Parks. With about 63% of all households now with a pet of some kind, and most people (like us) consider them our companions - they want to spend more time together.
Personally, we're always looking for places to take our dogs. If MD state parks all opened up to allow dogs, we would certainly visit them more often.
The main issue is maintaining the park from waste, so I assume that trash containers and bags would have to be made available, and signage posted to pick up waste (sadly, because a minority of people don't pick up after their pet).
I do know that other places have become more dog friendly. There are restaurants that enable dogs to sit outside with their owners (we bring our dogs to Panera Bread and eat outside with them). I assisted the Marketing manager for Federal Hill's Main Street Street Beat Festival in development and creation of a "dog area" and it was a tremendous success.
I encourage you to open all of the parks to canines, as long as they're leashed. (Again, it's always one or two thoughtless people that break the leash law rule- but there will always be some). The benefits far outweigh the non-benefits and people will likely visit MD State Parks a lot more often if they can bring their dogs. After all, many dogs are like children to people, and you wouldn't leave your children behind when you visit a park!
