Task Force Will Consider Dog Park Options

The Tulsa Parks Board formed a dog park task force on Tuesday morning.  The News On 6's Steve Berg reports step one will be finding the right location for a dog park.

Johnson Park is just one of the places that people are talking about for a dog park.  Supporters say it can't happen soon enough.

Unofficially, the Tulsa Arboretum has become a dog park.  While it may be a happy scene of dogs playing, it is technically illegal because the dogs are not on a leash.  It is something that Rusty Rowe and Colleen McCarty discovered when they were ticketed at the Tulsa Arboretum recently.

"I guess we showed up 5 minutes after everyone scattered, and we walked in and let our dog off the leash like we normally do.  The only person there is a guy with a badge," said Rusty Rowe.

Rowe and McCarty had just got out of the Tulsa Park Board meeting, where officials gave the go-ahead for a task force to start looking for dog park locations.

"I think it's about time.  We've been to other cities where they've had dog parks," said Rusty Rowe.

Susan Neal with the Mayor's Office says funding for the effort will come from private donations and says they'll look at both private and public land.  Neal says depending on how much money they get, there might be multiple dog parks.

"There has to be water, ya know, a water line.  There have to be certain pieces of infrastructure that make that site workable.  There has to be sufficient parking.  Those kinds of things.  So, we'll look at all available sites, both in the public and private sectors and then choose the best location or locations," said Susan Neal.

The task force won't have a recommendation until September and while she's grateful that things are moving forward, Susan Day wonders why it's so slow.

"I just don't understand what's so difficult about a fence," said Susan Day.

Until then, the leash-less run at their own risk.