Soap Lake dog park draws concerns

SOAP LAKE - Two Soap Lake residents expressed worry over how the city manages its off-leash dog park after a dog was injured recently.

Soap Lake resident Burr Beckwith related his story to the Soap Lake City Council last week, telling how on the evening of Dec. 10 he took his dog to the park, a fenced-in field at the corner of Ginko Street and Second Avenue Southwest, for a bonfire and cookout.

The event was organized by the Soap Lake Improvement Crew (SLIC) as a way to recognize volunteers who donate their time to care for lost and abandoned dogs in the city.

"As I brought my dog Sadie through the gate on a leash there were a whole bunch of dogs there and she was bitten," Beckwith said. "She's going to be OK, but it was a dangerous situation."

Beckwith said the incident magnified his concerns over safety and liability issues surrounding a public dog park.

"In actuality, probably 95 percent of the people who bring their dogs to dog parks are responsible. It's the 5 percent that are not responsible and not in control of their dogs that are the problem," he said. "These people and their dogs are a threat to public safety and a real threat to others, especially children, not to mention other dogs."

Mayor Wayne Hovde pointed out the city recently erected a sign at the entrance to the dog park stipulating the rules, including that owners enter at their own risk and are legally responsible for any injury or damage caused by their dog.

Soap Lake resident Diane Crummett said she doesn't think simply posting rules at the park protects the city from all liability, and argued the SLIC event should have been better thought out.

"I don't think it was a thought through idea to have this event at night where you have food and you don't know who's going to show up," she said. "I just hope it never happens again to anybody else. People could have been bitten too."

Hovde said this is the first incident he's heard of at the park, which has been in existence since 2010, but he also expressed his personal regret for any harm done.

"This is a wake up call and we appreciate your concerns," he told Beckwith. "For what it's worth I apologize for any harm done to Sadie."

Soap Lake council member and SLIC volunteer Barney Berg later agreed, saying this was the first time SLIC has held a cookout at the park and any future events will have better lighting and more emphasis placed on maintaining control of pets.

"It was an unfortunate situation," he said. "I'm especially sorry it happened to the Beckwiths, because they're so much involved in the community."