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The importance of dog parks as public spaces is undervalued. This narrative series will explore the current dog park paradigm and suggest improvements. This will be accomplished by discovering how dog parks strengthen our relationships with our dogs, neighbors, and the natural world around us.
This show is brought to you by As It Should Be Productions, the creators of the Dog Save The People and Dog Walk Meditation podcasts. The episodes are narrated by author Jenna Blum.
Welcome to Dog Parkology.
This is a story about dog parks.
How they came to be, why they're
essential, and how they might
evolve to make life better.
In the earliest days of North
America, Native Americans kept dogs
as hunting partners, camp security,
and companions for their children.
Dogs lived freely alongside their humans
and were considered special members of the
tribe, unique and important animal allies.
They were beloved as friends,
co workers, and family members.
We chose dogs, and they chose us.
As American society and culture
changed, so did the roles of our dogs.
In the 19th century, they were
primarily working animals,
focused on herding and hunting.
By the beginning of the 20th
century, as the agricultural economy
shifted to industrial, fewer and
fewer people lived off the land,
instead flocking to cities for jobs.
There was less demand for dogs to work
outside, and more for them as companions.
Coming out of World War II, in the
1950s, the suburbs started to emerge.
And so did dogs.
It became part of the picture
of the idealized American dream,
which included a home with a white
picket fence, two smiling parents,
a couple of kids, and a dog.
No other family represented
this better than the Kennedys.
who were said to be crazy about dogs
because of their hopeful spirit.
Throughout his political career,
including his presidency, Kennedy
modeled for Americans how a dog
could be part of the family.
His beautiful wife Jackie and their
children were often photographed
with their four dogs at home in
the White House and on vacation.
The dogs didn't sleep inside.
Instead, they spent their nights
in a kennel on the property.
This was typical of
most American families.
During the 60s and 70s, dogs
were outside in the backyard
with a doghouse for shelter.
During the day, they would mostly
roam freely throughout neighborhoods.
TV, movies, and the funny pages
also portrayed dogs this way.
Think about Snoopy without a leash, lying
on top of his signature red doghouse.
Or heroic Collie Lassie exploring
the town on her own all day and
sleeping in a backyard shed.
While there is more room in
the burbs, living with dogs in
cities presented challenges.
Dogs mainly lived inside
smaller apartments and
required regular walks outside.
Cities technically had leash and licensing
laws, but most people disregarded them,
and the rules were rarely enforced.
Dogs were pretty free to walk city
streets and explore public parks,
with their humans not too far behind.
In this era, our best friends had
a good life, filled with freedom
and a strong sense of agency.
But as dogs popularity
grew, so did complaints.
A 1976 New York Times headline, Read,
urban dog population is a rising problem.
Many owners let their dogs run unleashed
in city parks, the article says.
A practice that often frightens
mothers with infants, that turns some
park areas into wallows of canine
feces, and that presents a special
peril to joggers and runners who
provide tempting moving targets.
There were also concerns about
barking, indiscriminate breeding,
or dog abandonment, leading to
strays and overpopulated shelters.
Then came the crackdown.
First the cities, then the suburbs decided
to address these problems with new rules.
Many communities passed stricter
dog control ordinances and
began to enforce leash laws.
The idea was having a human
attached to a dog by a leash would
minimize undesirable behavior.
Not everybody was happy about
keeping dogs on leash all the time.
Dogs need freedom to run, to
exercise, to play with others,
and to express themselves.
In the late 70s, in California's San
Francisco Bay Area, a small group of dog
owners informally gathered in a Berkeley
public park to challenge leash laws.
Berkeley was known for political
activism and fighting for civic justice,
including a hard fought battle to
reclaim private land for community
benefit, aptly named the People's Park.
An annex to that park, a two block stretch
of land on Hearst Street, where residents
frequently brought their dogs, Would
go on to change dogs' lives forever.
In 1979, a group of locals petitioned
to create an experimental dog park.
They described this innovative concept
as a large fenced area with trees,
grass, and benches for the human guests.
The group clarified this was not a
gated dog run with a narrow paved
lane for just a few dogs to exercise.
Instead, they envisioned it just like
other public parks, but where everyone
could legally let dogs run free.
An unintended benefit was that fellow
dog parents met neighbors there
and created a tight knit community.
These casual human friendships proved to
be a driving force behind the popularity.
The place became known as the Ohlone
Dog Park, with the name nodding
to the Native American tribe who
originally occupied that land.
It is considered The first
dog park in the world.
Today, there are more than 1, 000 official
dog parks in the United States, and now
almost half of households own a dog.
Since 1980, the prominence of dogs,
our understanding of their psychology,
and our behavior has changed a lot.
Scientific research on how dogs think
and our relationship with them has
also exploded over the last decade.
Duke University founded the first Canine
Cognition Center to research how dogs and
humans minds converge in outstanding ways.
Similar programs soon followed at Yale,
the University of Denver, and Penn, with
dedicated programs on canine research
emerging from schools of anthropology,
psychology, and veterinary medicine.
Technologies like the internet
and social media have disrupted
human behavior in lasting ways.
On screen interaction has replaced
many in person experiences, from
shopping to dating and working.
Our lives have also been forever
changed by the global COVID 19 pandemic.
During lockdown, we were
encouraged to isolate to
minimize the spread of the virus.
This normalized remote work for
many Americans, merging the home
and office into the same place.
First time dog adoption rates soared
during the pandemic as people sought
connection with new furry best friends.
Canine companionship became a
crucial mental health support.
Throughout it all, dog parks remained
one of the few safe places people
could take their dogs to play
and socialize with other humans.
This drove home dog parks
importance for community activity,
interaction, and bonding.
While the number of dog parks has
increased since their founding at
Berkeley, the original concept has
not changed much in almost 50 years.
The traditional fenced in dog
park is still the prevalent model.
In Dog Parkology, we want to build out
from the traditional elements of the dog
park and move forward with ideas that will
help us build better connections with our
dogs, with each other, and with the land.
It's time to think outside the box.
outside the fence about what the future
of our dog parks might look like.
Thank you for listening to
this episode of dog parkology.
I'm Jenna Blum, your narrator.
This show was created by As It Should Be
Productions, the creators of Dog Save the
People and Dog Walk Meditation podcasts
with executive producer Scott Benaglio
and producer and editor Jack Sommer.
Be sure to check out the entire
season of dog parkology by following
the show on Apple podcasts, Spotify.
Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.
You can follow us on social media at
Dog Park, ology and Dog Save the People.
You can visit our website, dog
park ology.com to learn more
about the show and to buy custom
design merch like our T-shirts.
If you know of any great dog parks
in your area or you've created
your own dog park ology moment, you
can email us at dogPark@gmail.com.
We'd love to hear about your experience,
and if you've enjoyed listening
to this episode, please share it.
Enjoy a trip to a dog park today,
or wherever you go with your dog,
to appreciate nature, meet others,
and make a better life together.