Waveny.net

This past weekend presented idyllic weather for a stroll in Waveny Park. Temperatures were in the 40′s with sunshine and a calm breeze but if you brought ‘man’s best friend’, you found our dog park still locked down!

Spencersrun.org posted an excuse why the Waveny Park dog run has predominately been locked since September. Alas our dog park seems to be a garden project for the next year.

Since September of this year, the powers that be have tried in vain to place form before function.

Modernists adopted the equations; form follows function and ornament is crime as moral principles. They genuinely believe that form comes at the expense of function.

The theory of “form follows function” is problematic but never-the-less can be applied to this situation! It appears that we are bound to provide a lovely green oasis or we can’t use the space. However, we do not use the dog park for it’s shape, topography, or vegetation. We do not visit the dog park to pamper our feet or offer our pets a glimpse into the country club lifestyle. We do visit the dog park to allow our dogs to socialize freely within a fenced area and to enjoy a camaraderie with other visitors. The experience of visiting a dog park can be heart-warming, exciting, enjoyable and gratifying but most of all practical. We are there to allow our pets to socialize. Social time with other canines is essential for the well-rounded psychology and fitness of our pets. My dog does not come to Spencer’s Run for a luxurious experience between her toes, or for the aesthetic qualities of the cage she is allowed to socialize freely within.

Mounting frustrations and disappointment at the closure of the dog run are understandable. Tensions within a pet owner’s household run higher when the dog wants out and the lack of activity leads to behavior that is less than comforting. The park is a great escape!

What is it called when you agree to something, to get your way, knowing full well you can never meet your requirements? Why did we cut down all those trees and destroy the Natural setting? ..to prove we could grow grass against the worst of odds?

Dog parks vary from flat fields like Noroton to unfenced woodland like Greenwich, from small urban lots in Manhattan to a large dirt run in Golden Gate Park. They are visited by four-legged creatures who walk on paws with 16 claws making contact with the ground. They run circles around any and all of us. They can dash, dodge, leap and crash to the ground hundreds of times in an hour. Every time they move, their claws take positive grip on all but the hardest of surfaces. They have powerful legs with claws.

Now think function dictates form and find your solution so we can use the dog park for what it is.

A prime example why future development of our irreplaceable Natural landscape is worthy of exhaustive investigating before approval.