Dog Parks
 

I have two large dogs and have been to all of the dog parks in The Villages and I have been to Doggie Doo Run Run, which is great. I think the dog parks in The Villages are too small, or have little shade, or too much sand. Why are they so small? How can we get nicer parks for the dogs? I notice a lot of dogs here, so there must be a need. I would love to see a really nice dog park inside of The Villages. Any dog lovers in The Villages have any ideas?

Sigh...

Really, where to start? We need a lobbying group for the dogs. It took years of lobbying to get a dog beach in our little Lake Michigan town, and now it's mobbed and has become a tourist attraction. The naysayers have all gone silent. (They thought we wouldn't pick up our poop! Why, there's a new thread for ya...)

The hotels have caught up with the fact that people WILL travel with their dogs. Now the communities have to catch up with amenities for them too.

DDRR is a great place, but it is not convenient to us in the lower forty. We have a dog park close to us in Tamarind Grove, but it is a joke for big dogs, and too much dirt.

Yes, we definitely need more dog parks! The three existing dog parks in The Villages are way too small, and people just aren't willing to travel the distance to access them. I think The Villages was designed with brilliant conceptual vision, however with thousands and thousands of dogs in TV, more dog parks are needed. When we're in The Villages we take our dogs daily to DDRR, which is a great place, and we don't mind paying a fee. But we need dogs parks that are accessible by golf cart.

There is a yearly "satisfaction survey" sent to all residents. There is a space for write-in comments. If enough people requested more dog parks, I think The Developer might give it some consideration. There are some scruffy areas around in commercial/industrial areas that could be fenced without bothering residents.

Last week on a post,Person said he is the only person there between 3 and 4..Seems by that statement they are large enough.

If you go to the Bonita Dog Park you will see why very few people go there who have small dogs. Think of a very small stretch of that winding street in San Francisco (Lombard Street) without the pavement but with grass and a lot of dog poop. Very hard to watch your dog while not falling over into dog poop.
http://www.visitingdc.com/san-franci...et-picture.asp

Someone could start a club to clean it up.

It's too hot for a large longhaired dog between 3 and 4 in the afternoon. That's probably why not many dogs are there; not the size. (The one in the south is very small for a large dog.)

But the main reason we avoid the TV dog parks is the lack of solid grass. In other words, too much dirt. Even though it's dry dirt, it's hard to get out of our dog's coat, and running around in it for too causes his skin allergies to flare up. Running around in grass doesn't.

DDRR has nice grassy fields, but it is a hike from 466A. We need a bigger, grassier dog park in TV that's more centrally located.

You know I am a dog lover, even though we don't have one of our own. Our kitties won't allow any more children.......and you know I think you are the greatest, C.

But isn't Doggie Do Run Run owned by someone? Would people use a dog park that was a commercial one if they had to drive their car to it?

Just wondering. It might be a good business venture for someone south.

Yearly Survey
 

I don't think the Developer takes much notice of the yearly survey. For years many of us have been trying to turn the Community Watch into a real watch group with no apparent success, so I don't think dog parks are high on his list.

This is not meant as a criticism of what you said Madeleine or political either, but when you add things to a business model someone has to pay. The developer is making a good profit to be sure but he also gives us LOTS of wonderful things that could be cheaper and could be less nice and that what is offered is very well thought out. In other words people are doing fairly well with their dogs without an added dog park and people are doing fairly well without an indoor pool or another or better fitness center or a performing art center or etc. etc.

We can't have everything we want. I think our amenity fee is very good considering.

I think the world of you Madelaine. Please do not think my post is directed at you.

I am just an old and satisfied person here in this wonderful place.

Yes, DDRR is privately owned, but I think somehow it is accessible by golf cart for some in the north. Can anyone of you DDRR users verify that?

We pay $ to take our dog to an indoor day care center to blow off some steam. I would definitely use a grassy dog park closer to home, even if it cost $. Right now we're chuckering the tennis ball for him across our tiny backyard when it gets afternoon shade.

We've probably had 17 cats in our lives. One lived to be 20 (still miss him, and he died in 1990). I would have one or two now, for Crosby looooves cats, but we have a bird. Been there, done that, and... well, never mind.

I agree with your comments, Gracie, and we are satisfied too. As far as the dogs go, we knew what was here for our dog when we bought. I'm satisfied with our arrangement with his exercise. Another good dog park like DDRR would be icing on the cake that I would be willing to pay for privately so nobody's amenity fees go up because of one small group.

Gracie - I think this could be excellent business venture for someone. A real dog park with grass and swimming available with a membership on th south side of things. If only...:doggie:

Why don't one of you open one, land around here can't be very expensive.

Sounds like if they added more dogs parks it would just be more areas like the one described above. Who would clean up the poop? People would not want to go to any areas that have a lot of poop.