Minnetonka: Is it time to call in the dogs?

There's trouble in doggie utopia.

In Minnetonka, dogs have for years roamed blissfully free -- under the voice command of their owners -- in the undeveloped, natural open spaces of city parks.

But dog droppings are a growing problem, even though the city spends up to $9,000 a year to make plastic pick-up bags available in 86 dispensers located around 50 city parks.

And police have received complaints about unattended, free-roaming dogs jumping up on runners, trail walkers and even a 2-year-old in a stroller.

The problems have prompted the city to consider curbing some of its liberal dog privileges and creating a fenced-in dog park for off-leash animals.

It's a solution many cities and counties have adopted in recent years to resolve human-vs.-canine conflicts -- but one decried by many Minnetonkans long accustomed to their dogs running leash-free. And the city estimates that one of every three Minnetonkans owns a dog.

The dog park trend

As usage of park land by both people and pets has grown, "Every year most cities deal with issues of people having dogs loose in open spaces," said Garrett Beck, a Burnsville recreation supervisor who has studied the trend toward dog parks.

"The answer was always, 'Your dog has to be on a leash,'" until cities began to understand that people, too, want to be outside with their dogs off leash -- "and they want to be able to do it legally," Beck said.

Now, Hennepin, Ramsey and Dakota counties all have dog parks. The cities of Minneapolis, St. Paul, Edina, Bloomington, Eden Prairie, Plymouth, Burnsville and Roseville, among others, also offer them. And Shakopee is considering one.

Lakeville goes a step further and allows dogs to run free under the supervision of their owners if they wear an electronic collar or pass an obedience course that certifies them as responsive to voice commands.

But Minnetonka has maintained one of the more lenient laws around: While it requires dogs to be leashed on trails and bans them altogether from beaches, picnic areas, ball fields and other maintained park land, it allows them to roam leash-free in large undeveloped park areas as long as they are under the control of their owners. Such areas can be found in most of the city's parks, but the biggest are Purgatory, Lone Lake and Big Willow.

It's a tradition that dates back years to a time when hunters used the parks to teach their dogs to retrieve, parks and trails manager Perry Vetter said.

But Minnetonka Community Service officer DeeAnn Bloom told the city's Park Board this week that the time has come to confine off-leash dogs to an enclosed area to keep other park users safe. "Safety is our main priority," she said.

Dog owners who frequent Purgatory Park -- which occupies more than 100 acres in southwest Minnetonka, much of it undeveloped -- also showed up as a group to tell the Park Board they don't want to lose the free-roaming privilege that their dogs enjoy there. It allows both owners and their pets to get plenty of exercise, and standing in a confined dog park and throwing balls for their dogs would not be a good substitute, many said.

"I personally would hate to see change come," said Christine Reily, whose property abuts Purgatory Park. "It's been a wonderful experience for families with dogs," Reily said, adding: "A tired dog is a happy dog."

Dog owner Dave Ingraham said the large open spaces in Purgatory Park and Lone Lake Park offer a special experience. "You can walk two or three miles with your dog. It's like hiking with your dog."

Dogged problems

Bloom said 100 dog bites have been reported in the city since January 2005. Among all those cases, only one dog was leashed. She said two off-leash golden retrievers recently attacked a small dog that was in its own yard.

Dog owners counter that most of the dog bites did not take place in the parks: only 13 were reported on park properties.

To address the problem of people not picking up after their dogs, canine owners volunteered to adopt a plastic-bag dispenser, keep it full of bags and pick up after dogs that are not their own.

How bad is the poop problem? Vetter showed the Park Board an e-mail dated April 6 from a dog owner who had collected 30 pounds of dog feces from a bike and walking trail running through the city and reported: "My favorite place to walk was Purgatory Park, but the poop situation is so out of control that I can no longer take my dog there."

Although the city spends a lot on pick-up bags, they have on several occasions been stolen in bulk by someone who pried open dispensers soon after the city had stocked them, Vetter said.

Concerns also have been raised about the environmental impact of the dog waste.

Feces left on the ground is swept by rain into Minnehaha Creek, Vetter said. That is part of the reason the Minnehaha Creek Watershed District advises residents not to use the creek for three days after a rainstorm, he said.

"If one person leaves animal waste, it may not have an effect," Vetter said. "But if 100 people leave animal waste, it will have an impact on the water quality."

One of two people at the Park Board meeting who favored a dog park was resident Jill Manley, who said, "I think a dog off-leash site would be wonderful. Dogs do not stay on the trail. That is why I have seen a decline in the wildlife since I have been walking there."

Dogs have many weeks ahead in which to run free. The Park Board has a tour scheduled for its June meeting and will not meet in July.

It will return to the dog issue at its August meeting. Any change in city leash laws recommended by the Park Board then would have to be adopted by the City Council before dogs would lose their freedom.

Laurie Blake • 612-673-1711