For Those Chicago (Cook County) Dog Park visitors
January 12, 2006 Dear Dog Friendly Area Patron: On May 20, 2005, the Cook County Department of Animal and Rabies Control issued a regulation mandating that any dog entering a Chicago Park District Dog Friendly Area (DFA) wear a tag identifying that it is current on the following required vaccinations: Rabies, Distemper, Hepatitis, Parainfluenza, Parvovirus, and Bordatella as well as having a current fecal test for parasites. Current titers where applicable will also be acceptable. On July 27, 2005, the Chicago Park District presented a plan at a public meeting held at Margate Park. There were two main points of contention with our proposed plan: (1) the proposed $35 fee and (2) the additional requirement on dog owners to go to a Park District facility for a dog tag and permit. Subsequently, the Park District held meetings with the Chicago Veterinary Medical Association (CVMA) which agreed that its members would issue the DFA permit just as they issue the County Rabies tag. This partnership is invaluable because it addresses the two main points raised at the community meeting. First, it lessened the District’s administrative costs thereby reducing the proposed $35 fee to $5 (per dog). Second, it created a “one-stop shop” where dog owners can now go to a veterinarian to get vaccinations, a County Rabies tag, a mail-in application for the City License and the DFA permit. Please visit our website for more information at www.chicagoparkdistrict.com. Here are some highlights of the plan: • Any dog entering a Chicago Park District DFA must have a valid DFA permit and tag. • Permits and tags will be available exclusively at participating veterinary offices in Cook County as of February 1, 2006. A list of participating veterinarians will be posted on the Park District’s web-site as of January 23, 2006. • The fee for a permit and tag will be $5 per dog. • Enforcement of this plan, by the Cook County Department of Animal and Rabies Control, will begin on March 1, 2006. Violators will face a fine of $500. • Permits and tags must be renewed by January 1st of each year. Our goal has been to create a permit process that has limited impact on dog owners, while continuing to maintain safe and accessible DFAs for the residents of the City of Chicago. Furthermore, this process will protect you and your pet, and strengthen Chicago’s recent title as “the Most Dog-Friendly City in the United States,” according to Dog Fancy Magazine. If you have any questions regarding this permitting process, please feel free to call (312) 742-PLAY. Sincerely, Judy D. Martinez Director of Intergovernmental and Community Affairs |
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Wow  ..5 bucks isnt bad....just the motions to get it....... |
| Just another one of Mayor Daley's bright ideas to get more money for the city! I'd like to think the money is going for maintenance for the dog park, but it's likely to pay attorney fees for his administation's corruption charges. |
| My thoughts on this are threefold:
1) $5 is nothing, and I am happy that it is not the original $35. After some of my experiences all over the country at different dog parks, maybe this will bring a little more monitoring of what dogs are in these parks. What are the chances that there's a corelation between the problem dogs/owners and the dogs that have not been to the vet in years, if ever? With this fee will we be seeing more of a response to complaints that go on at the DFA's? 2) This is just a way for the City to bring the hammer down on people who have not registered their dogs, and have them corraled in one of 10 locations for easy detection (do peple actually know that they are suppose to register their dogs? Do they know that they are also suppose to register each of their bikes?). And what's the deal for people who are not residents and bring their dogs to these parks? Will I get fined? Guaranteed you will see a cop sitting outside each dog park one Saturday a month trying to ticket people. As I posted earlier, a $500 fine is out of control, when you compare it to the $100 fine for disregarding the smoking ban. Maybe a thought on bringing these closer together should have been discussed. 3) I would like some confidence that this money is going to go towards the upkeep and administration of these designated areas. With the well-reported corruption of the current administration, I would not be surprised that every other $5 bill ends up in some City Clerk's pocket. What I am confident about are the checks I have written to several dog park associations going directly into the upkeep of those parks. |
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