Rio Grand unofficial dog park
 

Does anyone know what is going on with the unofficial dog park behind the Rio Grand Rec Center. There was an article yesterday in the on line news site that said that access to the dog walking area had been shut off. We are currently up North so can not check it out for ourselves. If the article is correct, that really $ucks out loud for dog owners like ourselves that live nearby. That area for us is truly one of the hidden gems of the entire Villages, which we use multiple times per day when we are at our Villages home. It is the only place we have found in the Villages where we can get something that resembles adequate exercise for our Boarder Collie. We are going to be very upset and disappointed if access to that area has been discontinued.

A friend who lives near Rio Grande Pool and Mail Center and who used to take various dogs there over the years said they are expanding the air gun range and closing the access to the field for people who exercise their dogs.

It sounds like many of the dog owners were neglecting to clean up after their dogs and leaving the poop all over the place to just create a big stink in many ways. A lot of people were complaining to whomever would listen as well.

I used to take Sport there five years or more back and he loved it but the people seemed to pick up the dog poop that their pooches left. My current dog needs a fenced in area to run. He is a wanderer and very curious about things.

Dam the irresponsible dog owners that ruin things for the ones that respect the property. Every time I bring Sallie to that area I tend to walk out with four or five full poop bags, of which one is sometime Sallie's business. If people would respect the right to use the area, it wouldn't be closed. As I get older, I have no tolerance for lazy and disrespectful people that ruin a good thing for others.

It did sound from my friend that this was the real reason. She now has a puppy that runs around a lot so she comes to the dog park I go to-- Doggie Doo Run Run. It does have a 5 acre back field where dogs can really run and there is a pool back there where I have seen up to 4 big dogs splashing around at once. They change the water a few times a day too. Doggie Doo Run Run is its name and it is about 1 mile north on CR101 on the right side when travelling north. Belvedere becomes CR101 when it crosses CR466 at Southern Trace Shopping Center. Nice people and you mark the poop with little metal sticks and the employees and/or dog park owners pick up the poop. There are some unmarked poops but not that many. You do have to watch where you walk though as there are a very few poops lying around. There is some socializing going on there and sometimes the people do not see their dogs go.

Really? How can you be upset over no longer being able to use something that was not sanctioned for dogs to begin with?

Isn't that private property?

Rumor has it, original owner would not sell to TV, she died, survivors ready to sell or have sold, at one time TV was going develop into recreational facility, did I mention that this is a RUMOR.

You can probably check that by looking at the Sumter County Property Appraiser's site. I believe that is Sumter County there.

If it was not sanctioned then why did they have an opening in the fenced area allowing access knowing exactly what people (and their dogs) where using the property for? In fact, several times I used the property and was given a friendly wave from the community watch person hanging out in the parking lot.

My understanding of the community watch is they have no police authority or any authority for that matter to stop any one from doing anything. They are to observe and report only. If this property is or was privately owned then The Villages has no authority over it. Why there was an opening the in the fenced area, who knows? Just because there was an opening in the fence doesn't mean anyone can just walk in and do as they please.

You mean people were trespassing on this private area? I was wondering why nothing was built on it previously.

Have you ever been to this area? Speculation without first hand knowledge is dangerous, actual observations from people who frequent this property carries much more credible weight.

No! Lake Co. Actually the address for the Rio Grande Pool is:

1228 Rio Grande Ave
Lady Lake, FL 32162

Look on the Lake Co. Property Appraiser's Site:

Welcome to The Property Appraiser's Office for Lake County, Florida

:ohdear:

:shocked: Yes, that is what was going on. Can you imagine..... dog owners are upset with other dog owners who don't pick up after their dogs. HOW DO YOU THINK THE PROPERTY OWNERS FEEL???? :oops:

That should help with showing who owns what of that Rio Grande area field used in the past as a make shift dog run. Dog owners have been using it for one since at least 2008 if not before.

:doggie: Dog owners have been trespassing on that property since at least 2004.(when I moved here) :ohdear:

I did not get a dog until January of 2007 but had heard of people using it for a long time. It sounded like that they were a few hold-outs who did not want to sell their property to the Villages.

Too bad some of the dog owners stopped picking up after their pooches.

???? Using property that is not posted and has a welcoming access point is not trespassing. It is an open field with no homes and is used by the owner(s) for nothing but harvesting hay bails. I have had several occasions to converse with the very friendly folks operating the equipment used to make the big rolls of hay. A couple of them even asked if they could pet my dog. That my friend is not trespassing!

Probably an honest mistake. I was going to buy a property that backed onto that lot. I asked the real estate agent what was going on there as it looked empty and she didn’t know. She stopped some of the people who lived next door and asked them and no one seemed to know anything. So I could see how that could be interpreted as an open area.
Also, it would seem that that area of the Villages is underserved with dog parks.

OK if you say so. I don't have a dog in this fight and like you and the others.... it's not my property! I don't care if you use it. I really don't. Actually I like having a smaller number of dogs at the Postal Stations. Just looked it up TRESPASSING

:read: From an online dictionary I found real quick:

trespassing
1.
enter the owner's land or property without permission.
"there is no excuse for trespassing on railroad property"
synonyms: enter without permission, intrude on, encroach on, invade, infringe, impinge on; archaicentrench on
"there is no excuse for trespassing on railroad property"
make unfair claims on or take advantage of (something).
"she really must not trespass on his hospitality"
synonyms: take advantage of, impose on, make use of, play on, exploit, abuse, make unfair claims on
"I must not trespass on your good nature"

:)

My back yard doesn't have any postings warning people to keep away. It also has a walkway leading to it from the road through the driveway. If you decide you want to come through the "welcoming access point" to my "not posted" back yard, you will be trespassing.

Everyone who uses my back yard as a walk-through to the neighbor's house, will be trespassing. The only difference between trespassing on my back yard and trespassing in that field, is that I am likely to press charges and the dead property owner of the field is not.

You are so wrong.

Spell it out for me real slowly what I said that was incorrect. If it is/was private property a non-owner has no right to go onto the property, that is trespassing. I don't have to have "been there" to make that determination. From the posts on this subject it appears that the land is privately owned.

The Community Watch driver that goes thru our village always waves......they are friendly.

Probably a tenant with no authority to allow or deny access.
Would it have made any difference if they had not been friendly?

Fact Sheet on Gopher tortoise | North Florida ESO Jacksonville

This is a 20 acre plus area of field just south of the Rio Grande Pool and Mail Center.

I had heard that the Gopher Tortoises that are in that field MAY have had something to do with these various properties not being sold.

They do have large burrows in that field.

I used to take Sport there back around 2007- 2014 once in a while for some variety. There were a lot of regulars there. People who used that field about every day. Some of them are Talk of the Villages members even if I do not remember them posting in quite some time. Sport passed in 2014 and we got Beau who needs a leash or a fenced in field. This field is not fenced in except for a decorative fence on one side.

Unless they have made changes. I have not been in that field since 2014.

After having four dogs prior to retirement, we didn’t replace our last one because we wanted to travel and didn’t think it was fair to the dog for us to be gone for long periods of time. Also, didn’t want the responsibility either. Our dogs always were fenced, trained and had fairly large yards to roam. Obviously, that is not the case in retirement communities such as TV. Dog parks are a nice alternative when you don’t have a larger yard to keep your dog. OP, the area you describe probably needs a dog park. Perhaps some of that property could be purchased for one. Just thinking out loud.

That is a good idea. Paradise Dog Park is close but is quite small. Dog Parks

I don't live near the Rio Grande pool and I don't own a dog. I simply want to correct misinformation that has been posted. So, here goes ...

Look at the attachment. It is a screenshot from a Lake County website.

-- The pool and the field south of it are in Lake County.
-- The pool is under the 3606779 label.
-- The big field actually consists of many small parcels. The parcel boundaries are shown by the lines.
-- Most of the parcels are owned by The Villages. However, some are owned by various private individuals.
-- I did not look at every parcel. However, of those that I looked at, no private individual owns more than one parcel.

Florida Trespass Statute:

Statutes & Constitution
:View Statutes
:

Online Sunshine

Is it considered trespassing if you let your pet go on someone else’s property but you don’t go on it yourself?

Great question.

I don't think I've ever seen a thread on TOTV regarding..."a pet going on someone else’s property."






:1rotfl:

Some pets are hard to control, I was thinking of cats in particular. In my city it is considered trespassing. You need to leash your cat... not many people try to. It is suggested mostly for the cats’ safety so they won’t get run over by cars. They are also supposed to be kept indoors. That could be part of the reason why we have a current rat infestation. Dogs are also considered trespassing but the first few feet of your property belongs to the city.
Wlife such as rats, raccoons and skunks are not considered trespassing. I guess they have no owners to sue.

In my city they get eaten by coyotes. Why would anyone let a can run loose in TV???

Maybe, maybe not. In any case, no one can claim a right to use land that belongs to someone else. And that seems to be the case here. Ok. It was a convenient place for a long time. But it will soon no longer be available to you. TBFY.

...

Here's a fairly recent map of this area.....white property are owned by individuals; blue by the District; purple by the developer; grey are utilities (the power lines that go through this area)

That is useful. Thanks.

So where the street access for all the owners? that’s problem it never was developed into trailer park, but plots were sold. Now it’s SAFU!. District only has control over the broken down fence, which is on going to be BB gun firing range. So no access from Rio grand.

I guess the next step would be to plead a case to the developer and see if the previously sold properties and suitable access could be obtained. If you will pardon the pun, I have no dog in this, I am a cat person, but looking at the map, it MIGHT be possible. Perhaps a few people representing the larger group can approach the developer and see if there are any options.