No one is ever going to accuse City Council member Barbara Swearengen Ware of liking dogs.
The City Council parks committee discussed the city’s first dog park, recently opened behind the MCS administration building (and the parks division offices) on Avery, and Ware is not in favor of it.
“I don’t want to spend another dime on dogs,” Ware said. “We should encourage dog owners to think about what they’re going to do with their dogs before they buy them.”
The dog park cost the city $14,000 — $10,000 of which, parks director Cindy Buchanan pointed out, was for fencing and could be reused in another capacity later.
“The reason we built this one the way we did, where we did, was because it’s a test,” Buchanan said. “We’ve been getting lots and lots of requests, going back to 2000.”
“We put it across from our offices so we can keep an eye on it: Is it being used? Is it being used appropriately?” Buchanan said.
None of which seemed to satisfy Ware, who said the city shouldn’t be spending money on dogs that they could be spending on people.
