Dog park not a free ride

Do you use the dog park? If the answer is yes, now is your time to shine. The Kaake Walk Dog Park in Saratoga needs volunteers to deal with the worst snow Saratoga has seen in years.

The park was founded in 2002 with land donated by the town, but was set up to be maintained by a volunteer force according to Director of Public Works Jon Winter.

Currently two octogenarians, Ruth and Leon Hetherington have been doing the bulk of winter maintenance. We want you to picture a woman with hip trouble and a man on oxygen hacking away at icy snow drifts just so that the people of Saratoga and visitors to our fine town can enjoy taking their pets for a walk without a leash. That doesn’t sound right, does it? Well, it’s the way this winter has gone for the pair.

Both Ruth and Leon clearly point out that volunteers have been impressive, supporting the park during annual cleanups and repairs. However, that support seems to lag between formal events. The town has also contributed time and resources to building and maintaining the park. But, as Winter points out, the town has to prioritize its efforts and in a winter like this. The emergency routes, school routes and neighborhood streets have to come before the park and trail systems.

One standout volunteer during this winter has been Saratoga Police Chief Tom Knickerbocker who has plowed out the parking area and holding pen at the entrance of the park a couple of times.

The park needs volunteers to clear the drifted snow which has become compacted and icy around the gates. Recently, the gates could not be open or shut, at times, because of the ice buildup. Winter said he asked the town crew to deliver some pea gravel to the park so that it can be spread to provide traction. As of last weekend, Leon said he was going to take a shovel up to the park and do it himself, if necessary.

The road leading to the south gate of the park needs to be plowed in order to provide access for a four-wheeler or skid-steer to clear the trails inside the fenced area. The town has been too busy dealing with higher priority areas to get to this stretch of road recently.

The Hetherington’s accurately note that the dog park is of value not only to residents but also to the people who stay in our hotels. Many people travel with pets and Kaake Walk Dog Park provides the only area for the visitors to legally let their dogs off leash in town limits.

If you value the dog park and don’t want to see it closed due to safety reasons this winter, get out there and do your part. If you have a strong back and shovel, that is all they really need. If you have a plow blade on your truck, ATV or a snow-thrower, even better. It could be as simple as shoveling a few scoops of snow for every pile of turds you pick up anyway.