|
ANNOUNCEMENTS/NEWS
PARK SAFE. Arlington County has kicked off Park Safe. Throughout the month of July, officers will be increasing the enforcement of laws that prohibit drinking, using fireworks or otherwise disturbing the peace, harassing wildlife and pets, and other inappropriate behavior in public parks. This should help with some “happy hour” problems and harassment of their dogs that dog park visitors have noted and reported to authorities. Dog park visitors should also be aware that enforcement will include cracking down on leash law violations. Please remember that if your dog is in a public area outside a CCA, he or she MUST be on-leash. It’s not just a matter of being a good neighbor, it’s the law!
BOOK SIGNING/LECTURE. Noted author and certified pet dog trainer Joel Walton (author of “Labrador Retrievers for Dummies” and “Positive Puppy Training Works”) will be delivering a lecture and signing copies of his books on July 20 at the grand opening of WOOFS!, a new dog care facility in Arlington owned and operated by the folks who organize and manage ADogs’ weekend puppy parties. The event is free of charge, and dogs and humans of all ages are welcome. Event is July 20, 2002 (book signing: 1-3 pm; reception 3-6 pm). WOOFS! will focus on enriching the relationship between humans and their canines through positive reinforcement training, cageless doggy daycare every weekday, and educational opportunities such as book clubs, and seminars, is located at 4241-A N. Pershing (behind the El Paso Café and just past the corner of Pershing and Glebe). For more information send a note to janet.crist@att.net or sharkey18@msn.com
SMALL PARKS. ArlingtonDogs thanks Arlingtonians for a Clean Environment for its letter to the county endorsing the our small grants proposal for stream mitigation the only small parks grant proposal submitted that dealt with stream erosion efforts. The ACE letter is reproduced below. Thank you, ACE! Any other groups or individuals who want to send in letters of support should feel free to do so, the sooner the better. And any ADoggers who want to be on the environmental committee that will be putting together the final plan by Sept. 15, please send a note to michelle_prettyman@yahoo.com.
K-9 VEST. Thank you to all Adoggers who have contributed over the years to the ADogs Vested Interest Fund, which support efforts to assist Arlington County Police Department’s K-9 units. The Fund has purchased another bulletproof vest, this one for the newest member of the canine unit. Rico is a 3 ½ year old Belgian Malinois who joined the force last August as a patrol/explosives expert, and accompanies veteran police officer and K-9 handler Corporal Thorpe Lichtenberg. Police dogs face shooting, stabbing, beating, and other dangers. The individually-tailored and specially made K-9 vests help mitigate damage in all of those situations. Kudos to ADog Treasure Lois Trumbull for coordinating the logistics of this purchase and donation. kkirchoff@ahadirect.com.
VIENNA DOG PARK. The Mayor and Town Council of the City of Vienna invite folks to the dedication and grand opening of a new dog park at Moorefield Park, 700 Courthouse Road (I-66 to Nutley, left on Courthouse, left into Moorefield Park), in Vienna VA at 9 am on Saturday, July 13.
AWLA POLICIES.Those of you who volunteer at the Animal Welfare League of Arlington may already have received this note, but we wanted to help AWLA get the word out to as many interested persons as possible and AWLA agreed to let us distribute their note to volunteers explaining shelter policies. This may answer questions some of you have directed our way. Contact information for further info is included in the letter.
SOFTBALL. Thanks for the responses from last week’s call for softball players now if we can get a few more female players together, we’ll have a team. For three years now ArlingtonDogs and The Lost Dog Cafe have put together a team for Arlington County's fall coed adult softball league. If you are interested in playing please send a note to michelle_prettyman@yahoo.com ASAP. The deadline for the Fall league paperwork is July 17. Games are played on Saturdays (usually in the morning) in Arlington, beginning the end of August through early October.
BLESSING OF THE PETS. Thanks to all ADoggers who made it to Blessing of the Pets on June 30 at Clarendon United Methodist Church, and thank you to the Church for hosting this terrific event and inviting ADogs to have a table. About 25 dogs and 20 cats came to the three services.
UPCOMING BOARD MEETINGS. Chair Michelle Prettyman has set and confirmed locations for ADogs Board meetings this year, well in advance. All are 7:30 pm to 9 pm in room CC3 on the first floor of the NRECA building, which is on Wilson Blvd. across from the construction site that used to be the parking lot adjacent to the Hechts section of Ballston Mall. Dates are: July 10, Sept. 18, Oct. 9, Nov. 13, Jan. 8, Feb. 12, March 12, April 9 (this will also serve as the ADogs annual meeting), May 14, and June 11. All ADoggers are encouraged to attend any or all of these public meetings.
SAAB FUNDRAISER. Thanks to Saab and You Lucky Dog Barkery and Boutique in Alexandria for hosting a fundraiser that netted nearly $2,000 for ArlingtonDogs. But most importantly, thank you to all ADoggers who showed up to test drive a new Saab. Each driver meant a $20 contribution to ADogs from Saab, and apparently our turnout well exceeded the norm that the Saab folks expect (about 50-75). And a final thank you to ArlingtonDogs’ Board member Dawn Dangel for organizing and setting up the event.
OPEN SPACE. Dog park advocates have also had a good turnout at the County’s Open Space Task Force meetings, expressing their interest in maintaining and expanding dog parks in the County and detailing the benefits the Community Canine Areas bring to humans as well as canines in the area. Meetings continue in July let’s keep up the turnout, and feel free to submit written comments if you can’t come! Contact Karin Kirchoff for details, more info, or to help put the final polish on ADogs’ official written submission, kkirchoff@ahadirect.com.
SOFTBALL. Softball fans, it's that time of year again. For three years now ArlingtonDogs and The Lost Dog Cafe have put together a team for Arlington County's fall coed adult softball league. If you are interested in playing please contact Michelle Prettyman at michelle_prettyman@yahoo.com ASAP. The deadline for the Fall league paperwork is July 17. Games are played on Saturdays (usually in the morning) in Arlington, beginning the end of August through early October.
AWLA SHELTER. Many ADoggers have expressed interest in the Animal Welfare League of Arlington’s (AWLA) policies detailed in recent press accounts. ADogs efforts include many years worth of fundraising, collection of dry goods for, and support for AWLA projects. At the same time, ADogs has received increasingly numerous complaints from individual ADogs members who felt that their questions about specific shelter practices -- particularly questions regarding euthanasia policies and fostering policies -- had been brushed aside, rebuffed, or that AWLA had otherwise been evasive.
Given ADogs’ longstanding support for AWLA efforts, the need to work closely with and maintain public confidence in AWLA (which serves as animal warden and enforcement authority for many activities in Community Canine Areas), and an interest in being responsive to the concerns of members, ADogs’ Board accepted the recent suggestion from an ADogs member to hear from former employees of the shelter who had similar concerns as had been expressed by members. Those employees invited a reporter to accompany them to an ADogs Board meeting (all ADogs Board meetings are open to any member of the public). After the presentation, several ADogs members volunteered to be on an ad-hoc task force to better understand AWLA policies and practices. The hope is that such a task force could help clear up possible misunderstandings or misinformation and perhaps suggest new policies where appropriate. ADogs hopes to work with AWLA on our shared goals -- sensible, humane approaches to dealing with stray and homeless animals within the confines of strapped local budgets and a sometimes overwhelming population of unwanted pets. ADogs also hopes to work with AWLA to use our own extensive network to help AWLA improve its communication to Arlington residents with questions about shelter policies. Any questions, interest, etc., please email ArlingtonDogs at arlingtondogs@hotmail.com, or call 703-578-0522.
>> read more news in the archives
|
Download, complete and mail our one-page form:
ArlingtonDogs