Richmond - The Editor, Re: "Dog days are over," Letters, Feb. 7. It is with a mixture of amusement, sadness, nostalgia, and regret that I read of ongoing dog problems in Richmond.
Richmond - The Editor, Re: "Dog days are over," Letters, Feb. 7. It is with a mixture of amusement, sadness, nostalgia, and regret that I read of ongoing dog problems in Richmond. Fred Pawluk, Kelly Gilles and others are expressing valid concerns, but those are nothing new.Others expressed similar concerns a dozen years ago, which motivated Richmond residents, myself included, to form a group, Richmond Responsible Dog Owners Group (RRDOG), to work with the public and City of Richmond to address these issues and make Richmond a friendlier, safer, and cleaner place for everyone, not just dog owners.After years of consulting with the public, experts and organizations, researching practices in other jurisdictions, many presentations to council and hosting several public meetings, we were able to persuade the city to form The Dogs in Parks Task Force.The project was turned over to senior bureaucrats in city hall, who then jerked us around with bureaucratic bamboozling for years and succeeded in frustrating us into giving up.If any of the current complainers would like to take up the torch again, I will gladly donate the personalized license plates I purchased at the time (RRDOG) to publicize our efforts, but I would caution against it.The mandarins at city hall get paid very well to derail public initiatives.For better or worse, "dog days" in Richmond are not over. With increasing human population and continuing enthusiasm for the benefits dogs provide, the associated problems will increase, not cease.Thus, my sadness for the deteriorating quality of life here in Richmond; amusement at everything old becoming new again; and my regret at having naively wasted so much time, effort, and money in a cause predetermined to fail.On the other hand, many of those involved with RRDOG, have become longlasting friends. From a personal viewpoint, I am grateful for having gained a thorough education in how Richmond city politics really works.You can be certain I will not repeat that particular mistake! That said, I wish the best of luck to the current pack of whiners and responsible dog owners, who get tarred with the same brush as offenders, No offense intended, of course.As a wise mentor often reminds me, dogs are not the problem. People are the problem.Ramblin' Ryan LakeRichmond
