Small dogs could get their own playground in Aspen.
Aspen City Council asked for more information Tuesday on the possibility of establishing an area in a city park that would be given over exclusively to the run of small dogs.
A citizen comment made at the June 9 City Council meeting, which was seconded by multiple other people in the audience, spurred the consideration. Certain small-dog owners feel threatened by the presence of large dogs around their dogs. An incident involving a dog attack in the West End by former Aspen mayor Bill Stirling’s large dogs on a smaller dog was cited.
Parks and open space director Stephen Ellsperman said the parks department has been developing ideas about where a proposed small-dog park could be, but he didn’t share the specific locations with the council. The purpose of the brief discussion on the topic Tuesday was to confirm that the council did in fact want the parks department to further study the idea of having a small-dog only park.
Susan O’Neal, the citizen who brought the small-dog park idea forward, suggested a fenced-in area at Koch Park large enough to allow small dogs a place to run around. Pioneer Park, in the West End, has also been floated as a potential location.
The council has not yet said they support the idea, only the study of the idea.
“I haven’t heard a compelling argument yet as to why we should make a distinction between small and large dogs,” Councilman Jack Johnson said, asking what the larger effects on parks use would be of a small-dog only park.
O’Neal suggested that 20 pounds be the cutoff weight for a small dog.
Mayor Mick Ireland said he supported setting up a small-dog area in a park, but only on a trial basis. His support for keeping a small-dog park up and running would be contingent on dog owners cleaning up their dogs’ poop, Ireland said.
Ellsperman noted that setting up a small-dog “park, run or facility” would be a relatively simple and inexpensive task, most likely accomplished by setting up a fence. More difficult, Ellsperman said, would be the planning process, and the balancing act that would be required between the many activities the public uses its parks for.
For the next steps, the parks department will flesh out what it would implement and where and begin collecting feedback from the public.
“We’ll get about 2 million different bits of feedback from all different ways,” Ellsperman said.
Once the parks department collects its research on the small-dog park, it will come back to council for a final decision on whether or not to go forward with one.
At least one citizen thinks the small-dog park is a bad idea.
“Well-behaved dogs get along with well-behaved dogs. It has nothing to do with size,” said Andrew Kole. “This is (crap).”
curtis@aspendailynews.com
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i want a park for my hamsters!!!