[carole131]

In the VCDD Recreation News, Thursday, March 26, Monica Andersen addressed an old but widespread problem of inconsiderate dog owners ("Abide By Rules When Walking Your Dog"). I have owned dogs. At the time I had a large yard where our dogs could exercise & when necessary, relieve themselves. The maintenance & clean-up of the yard was my responsibility. I like dogs. I just don't want to smell their urine & feces (may I add that I no longer own a dog). If our dog owners would read Monica's column & take it to heart, we would be most appreciative. Once, I saw a man drop his dog's waste in a receptacle at the Chula Vista postal station. When I mentioned it to the attendant he looked sheepish & said, "What can I do?". Therefore, the perp had free reign to offend the rest of the people who walked in the area. In Central Park in Winter Park, dogs are not allowed. An official there for an event confirmed that even when dog owners pick up the waste, the debris left behind leaves an odor. If we leave people "on their honor", how effective will this really be? A little gentle reinforcement by attendants & the rest of us would really be a big help.

[Fourpar]

[Mikitv]

What ever happened to respect and consideration for our fellow man?

[CAL]

Next we should address the terrible smell of the gas golf carts. Instead of all of the complaining, perhaps a simple solution should be to provide a waste can out from under the canopy of the mail station or is that too much to ask. Our mail station houses 7 trash cans. Moving one out of range should not be a problem. There are a lot of responsible pet owners in the villages who would appreciate at least a convenient disposal area away from people.

[Responsible Dog Owners]

Hi TOTV members,

Thought I'd share a response e-mail I received from Monica this morning. It is in response to the e-mail beneath it.

"I wish I had had this information last week!!! Thank you Karen, I will certainly refer our resident questions in reference to responsible ownership to you. My husband and I are the proud owners of a rescue pooch, Jiminy. Who, if truth be told. . . rescued us!!! Have an good day and thank you for writing.
Monica Cook Andersen
Community Standards Director
Village Community Development Districts
1894 Laurel Manor Drive
The Villages, Fl 32162
(352) 751-6719
Monica.Andersen@districtgov.org

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

From: Karen Tynes [mailto:responsibledogownersgroup@embarqmail.com]
Sent: Saturday, March 28, 2009 12:47 PM
To: Andersen, Monica
Subject: "Our Place" Article

Hi Monica,

My name is Karen Tynes, President of the Responsible Dog Owners Group. You may of heard about this group. We've been actively teaching and demonstrating responsible dog ownership throughout The Villages for the past year.

Janet Tutt has graciously given us an area on the District web site for The Villages Petfinders database where we list lost, found and adopted animals. We also have the Cutter Alert program, patterned after Amber Alert for children, for Village residents. We currently have over 75 dogs registered on the database and in the event these animals are lost, found or have the misfortune of being stolen, we publicize this information of the site.

We've recently received an invitation to join the Talk Of The Villages web site where we answer questions from visitors and residents regarding dogs and dog parks.

I really enjoyed your article, and, if at any time you would like to refer residents to our program regarding responsible dog ownership or answer questions from new residents I'd be happy to shield those calls.

Again, thank you for your article in Our Place.
Karen (Tynes), President
RDOG
750-1627

[carole131]

Same woman keeps walking her dog around the pool & public walking areas at Chula. Why can't she let her dog "go" on her own property & spare the rest of us the odors? Another story: While waiting for my husband to come out of the MMD computer shop in Lady Lake, I noticed a please-don't-walk-your-dog-here sign (you know the one, with the cartoon dog defecating, within a circle with a line through it?). I saw another image* on the sign & wondered about it. When my husband returned to the car he told me that one of the techs told him that when he asked a dog owner why she let her dog relieve himself in spite of that sign plus one in the window, she replied that her dog was only urinating, so she thought the signs didn't apply. The tech had drawn in an image* that represented dog urine. Tell me. Are some dog owners like young people in love - stupid, or just selfish?