Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

New Ward Canyon dog park not mutt-tough?

Complaints about bark ground cover causing splinters

Ward Canyon dog park user: "We come here a lot and there's never been a problem."
Ward Canyon dog park user: "We come here a lot and there's never been a problem."

Normal Heights and Kensington dog owners took their concerns over the new Ward Canyon–adjacent dog park to the Adams Avenue Recreation Council last week (May 25).

The rec council took up the matter in response to a series of exchanges on Nextdoor.com, where people complained about the dog park, championed by Normal Heights community groups and councilmember Todd Gloria.

No one from Gloria's office attended the meeting, but Jeff Goldstein did, bringing pictures of injuries to his dog's paws from running on the ground cover of bark at the park at the southeast edge of Ward Canyon.

"The bark is pretty chunky — several other people said they had to get splinters taken out of paws," Goldstein said, noting he spent more than $200 at the veterinarian for the injuries. "It sounded to me that I wasn't alone in this." Goldstein said he wants to help improve the park for dogs, and he isn't asking for anything from the city.

Sponsored
Sponsored

Another dog owner, who declined to be identified, said she took her dog to the park a couple of times but now goes elsewhere. "I have a little dog and he doesn't like the bark. He can't run. He can't move. So I don't take him there," she said. "In any other environment he will be a playful dog."

City parks department recreation center director Michelle Chicarelli defended the bark and suggested to Goldstein that he could toughen his dog's paws by walking on asphalt.

"The wood has actually been through a tumbler four times. It was sterilized and tumbled four times," Chicarelli said, noting she takes her dog there. "The large pieces will settle...if you just go out and stomp on it, it will settle."

Rec council chair David Rodger and councilmember Bob Keiser said they were frustrated by the criticism and complained that only a few people showed up for the meeting.

"What was really disappointing is that no one was here for the hearings," Rodger said. "You can basically have five or six people who can create a massive controversy when it's just sensationalism."

The park was created as a temporary measure — for about five years — and officially opened in February.

Despite a report last year that stated $22,000 had been appropriated for the park, according to Rodger, the city authorized about $100,000 for the park and the money is spent. The sterile, tumbled bark cost about $10,000 of that, he said. The choice in ground cover grew out of neighbors' concerns over dust and smells traveling into their homes.

"We gave the neighbors just about everything they asked for," Keiser said. "The ground cover was very expensive."

It also seems to be the problem, a third dog owner said. She and Goldstein proposed raking the bark aside to see if that would solve the problems with dogs' paws being injured.

"If that works, we're fine; if not, we can put it back," she said.

But Chicarelli nixed the idea, saying the wood chips just need to settle.

Meanwhile, Rodger grilled Goldstein about comments on a chat-board, where other people complained about similar injuries to their dogs.

"I'm here because I want to help make this better," Goldstein said. "But in the meantime, my dogs and I go to a different park where they won't get hurt."

Despite concerns from some users, plenty of people use the dog park without complaint — except some grousing over the lack of water. On Tuesday (May 31), five dogs played rambunctiously on the big-dog side while more romped through the small-dog area.

"Not everything works for everyone," said Parker's owner while Parker thrashed with the Dude. "We come here a lot and there's never been a problem."

The latest copy of the Reader

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

The Art Of Dr. Seuss, Boarded: A New Pirate Adventure, Wild Horses Festival

Events December 26-December 30, 2024
Next Article

Memories of bonfires amid the pits off Palm

Before it was Ocean View Hills, it was party central
Ward Canyon dog park user: "We come here a lot and there's never been a problem."
Ward Canyon dog park user: "We come here a lot and there's never been a problem."

Normal Heights and Kensington dog owners took their concerns over the new Ward Canyon–adjacent dog park to the Adams Avenue Recreation Council last week (May 25).

The rec council took up the matter in response to a series of exchanges on Nextdoor.com, where people complained about the dog park, championed by Normal Heights community groups and councilmember Todd Gloria.

No one from Gloria's office attended the meeting, but Jeff Goldstein did, bringing pictures of injuries to his dog's paws from running on the ground cover of bark at the park at the southeast edge of Ward Canyon.

"The bark is pretty chunky — several other people said they had to get splinters taken out of paws," Goldstein said, noting he spent more than $200 at the veterinarian for the injuries. "It sounded to me that I wasn't alone in this." Goldstein said he wants to help improve the park for dogs, and he isn't asking for anything from the city.

Sponsored
Sponsored

Another dog owner, who declined to be identified, said she took her dog to the park a couple of times but now goes elsewhere. "I have a little dog and he doesn't like the bark. He can't run. He can't move. So I don't take him there," she said. "In any other environment he will be a playful dog."

City parks department recreation center director Michelle Chicarelli defended the bark and suggested to Goldstein that he could toughen his dog's paws by walking on asphalt.

"The wood has actually been through a tumbler four times. It was sterilized and tumbled four times," Chicarelli said, noting she takes her dog there. "The large pieces will settle...if you just go out and stomp on it, it will settle."

Rec council chair David Rodger and councilmember Bob Keiser said they were frustrated by the criticism and complained that only a few people showed up for the meeting.

"What was really disappointing is that no one was here for the hearings," Rodger said. "You can basically have five or six people who can create a massive controversy when it's just sensationalism."

The park was created as a temporary measure — for about five years — and officially opened in February.

Despite a report last year that stated $22,000 had been appropriated for the park, according to Rodger, the city authorized about $100,000 for the park and the money is spent. The sterile, tumbled bark cost about $10,000 of that, he said. The choice in ground cover grew out of neighbors' concerns over dust and smells traveling into their homes.

"We gave the neighbors just about everything they asked for," Keiser said. "The ground cover was very expensive."

It also seems to be the problem, a third dog owner said. She and Goldstein proposed raking the bark aside to see if that would solve the problems with dogs' paws being injured.

"If that works, we're fine; if not, we can put it back," she said.

But Chicarelli nixed the idea, saying the wood chips just need to settle.

Meanwhile, Rodger grilled Goldstein about comments on a chat-board, where other people complained about similar injuries to their dogs.

"I'm here because I want to help make this better," Goldstein said. "But in the meantime, my dogs and I go to a different park where they won't get hurt."

Despite concerns from some users, plenty of people use the dog park without complaint — except some grousing over the lack of water. On Tuesday (May 31), five dogs played rambunctiously on the big-dog side while more romped through the small-dog area.

"Not everything works for everyone," said Parker's owner while Parker thrashed with the Dude. "We come here a lot and there's never been a problem."

Comments
Sponsored

The latest copy of the Reader

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Live Five: Rebecca Jade, Stoney B. Blues, Manzanita Blues, Blame Betty, Marujah

Holiday music, blues, rockabilly, and record releases in Carlsbad, San Carlos, Little Italy, downtown
Next Article

Ben Benavente, Karl Denson, Schizophonics, Matt Heinecke, Frankie & the Witch Fingers

Troubadours, ensembles, and Kosmic Konvergences in Mission Beach, Del Mar, Little Italy, La Jolla, City Heights
Comments
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

This Week’s Reader This Week’s Reader