closed #164724
Parks & Playgrounds
- Case Date:
- 6/8/2018
Hello, I've recently stopped going to the Ferguson Dog Park on the Northside of town because it is absolutely improperly managed, the rules are not followed whatsoever by its patrons, and it is dangerous to be there. A few months ago, my two dogs were attacked by an aggressive, un-neutered male dog at the Ferguson dog park. The dog's owner was nowhere to be found as I frantically tried to remove the aggressive dog from my dog (he had one of my dogs by the neck). The aggressive dog then switched his attack to my other dog, grabbing him by the ear and almost ripping it off (I had to pay for staples and stitches at the vet to reattach his ear). With no other option and the owner of the other dog still nowhere in sight, I began pelting the aggressive dog in the head with my leashes to try and remove him from my dog. At this point, there is blood all over the place from both of my dogs' wounds. Finally, when he saw me hitting his dog, the owner decided to appear and began yelling at me, in my face, being very very aggressive. His dog was still attacking my dog so I kept swinging the leash as he was yelling until the owner finally decides to step in and try to control his dog rather than yell in my face. He grabbed his dog by the back of the neck to pull him off and then HIS dog let go and reached around and bit his own owner on the forearm, my dogs immediately ran away once he let go. I instantly start heading for the entrance to collect my dogs and take them to the vet because they are bleeding all over the place. I get about 20 feet from the gate and I'm grabbed by the shoulder by the owner and turned around at which point he continues screaming at me, only about 2 inches from my face. He yelled things like "Your dogs started it! Don't you ever f****ing hit my dog! I'm going to make sure you pay for this! You have pitbulls, this is our fault!" At this point I'm scared for my safety so I get my dogs in the car as quick as I can and only respond with "I'll be calling animal control". The owner had followed me all the way out to my car, yelling profanities the whole time. I immediately took both my dogs to the emergency vet and after stitches, staples, rabies shots, and antibiotics, I get slapped with an $800 vet bill. Im finally able to call animal control to report the attack. The next day, I get a call back from the animal control officer stating the gentleman had also called him and had a completely different story, saying MY dogs attacked his dog and that my dog (which the guy specifically said was a pitbull) bit his arm for no reason and he wanted to press charges! The officer then started questioning the validity of my statement, talking about how pitbulls are dangerous and the other guy's story made more sense since I own an "aggressive" dog breed (even though my dogs were the only ones with injuries). The officer then tried to get my address from me so he could "come look at my dogs" to assess if they were dangerous. I decided to let the issue go because the officer obviously believed the other man and I wasn't going to let my dogs get taken away, I'd rather eat the cost of the vet bill. (If you'd like to see pictures of the extent of my dogs' injuries, please email me at vworthy88@gmail.com). I went to the Ferguson dog park last week with a friend and witnessed another horrible situation in which a person's dog (un-neutered as well) attacked another dog and killed it. My point of writing this complaint is that the city needs to do something about regulating the rules at Ferguson dog park. People should NOT be bringing their un-neutered or un-spayed dogs to the dog park, it is specifically stated in the rules! And yet every time I go to there, I see a handful of un-neutered male dogs every single time. That is dangerous and a huge liability. People also bring their very small children which is also not allowed according to the rules. Ferguson dog park is a tragedy waiting to happen and I just don't understand why it is so impossible for the city of Bloomington to budget a little extra money to pay for an attendant to ensure the rules are followed at the dog park. You are building a huge, fancy park (switchyard), but there's nothing you can do to first ensure the safety of your patrons at the only public dog park in Bloomington?! I would even personally volunteer to be an attendant on days and evenings that I could, free of charge. I will not be visiting the Ferguson dog park until something is done and I will be telling everyone I can to do the same. People do not follow the rules and it is just a matter of time before someone gets seriously hurt -- and what's sad is that it will be the dogs who pay the ultimate price. I urge you to look into this matter. I sincerely hope a solution can be found and implemented that protects the dogs and owners who visit Ferguson dog park and follow the rules.