This is the month that pet owners are urged to get their pets spayed and neutered and take other steps to make sure your pet remains safe in your home and at the dog park. The Humane Society of the United States estimates that six to eight million cats and dogs end up in animal shelters every year. Please spay or neuter your pet and discover what you can do to take part in Responsible Pet Owner Month

Besides spaying and neutering your pet to reduce pet overpopulation and improve their temperament, follow these other guidelines for not only February year-round:

• Train your dog; this is extremely important. The Number One reason for dogs ending up in shelters is behavior problems. By training and socializing your dog you can greatly reduce the chances of your dog ever getting lost or ending up in a shelter. This should be a first step before coming to the dog park, please ensure your dog is trained. The parks can be a great tool to train your dog but they should not come unless under basic voice command, the basic first level of training whether by yourself or at a trainer is recommended with sit, stay, and expecially come practiced.
• Make sure your pet has up-to-date identification tags on his collar. Check them every once in a while, as pets (dogs especially) do have a tendency to lose their tags. It’s also important to make sure the information on the tag is up-to-date.   In order to use the dog parks, a permit is required – yes, required - it may not always be enforced but out of respect and courtesy for the access given us, please comply. A permit is only $25 for a dog per year and $5 per additional dog if more than one. In order to obtain a permit your dog must be licensed. These steps ensure that dogs are up to date on vaccinations, and if lost can be more easily reconnected with their owner.
  

  All dogs must be licensed, with proof of current rabies immunization, by your municipality in accordance with Wisconsin State Statute 174.07 and Milwaukee County Ordinance 29.01 before entering any Milwaukee County Park System Off-leash Dog Exercise Area. If you have questions about licensing your dog, please contact the municipality in which you reside. Municipality contact information is located at countyparks.com.
  Failure to comply may result in fines (Wisconsin State Statute 174.15)

  You can get your dog license and dog park permits at MADACC.

• Clean up after your dog. Whenever you take your dog for a walk or to play at the park or beach, make sure you bring some bags to pick up after your dog. Needless to say, it’s very irresponsible and unhealthy to not clean up dog waste (aside from being against the law). This is an often ignored courtesy (and rule) and at the parks. The parks should have bags but don’t count on it. Come prepared just as you would for a walk with your own bags.  Did you know that The 2012 Milwaukee County fine for not cleaning up after your dog is $200.50 – this law counts at the dog parks as well? If need be we will recommend it start being enforced at the parks.

It is recommended to give your pet plenty of exercise and feed a proper diet to protect against various diseases. The dog parks a great place to get the exercise for your dog. Please ensure the parks remain in place by being a responsible user. These and the other rules of the parks and general pet etiquette can be found here.

With the growth and changes we have seen new opportunities for ROMP to make and keep its presence felt, and 2012 will bring even more opportunities.

We are always looking for volunteers to do various things including event planning, awareness generation, and simply having a presence at the parks. We also need board members that want to have a say in the policies and practices of ROMP and the dog parks in general since we are the voice of users to the Parks department. One thing we would like is to have a representative for each park be the voice of those users within the board.

If you are interested in volunteering and/or joining the board, please e-mail info@milwaukeedogparks.org or call 414.364.6489.

A big thanks to everyone involved with Bark Day. Both Friends of MADACC and ROMP consider it a success. Thank you to the participants for coming to make it a great day displaying the best of dog welfare in Milwaukee.

Thank you again to the sponsors:

Elite Human Capital Group, Central Bark Doggy Day Care, Fresh Is Best, Inc., and Wisconsin Humane Society, as well as Milwaukee County Parks.

To Elmbrook Humane Society for hosting the lure course, Agility by AGILITY POSSIBILITIES Confidence Course & Workshop, and Bay View Bark for nail trimming.

Thank you to those that donated raffle items, bag stuffers, and ads for the program: 2011 program half page format 2011 program half page format_insert.

And the vendors

• Brew City Bully Club
• Central Bark Doggy Day Care
• Community Bark Dog Wash & Coffee bar
• Cudahy Kennel Club
• Elmbrook Humane Society
• Everythings Just Pucci
• Fresh is Best Natural Pet Food
• Dawgs In Motion
• Milwaukee Pet Nanny
• Organic Dog Training
• Rescue Chocolate
• Sitting Dogg In Home Pet Care
• Sonya Sharp Photography
• Spa Paw & Tail
• Ask the Trainer booth by Jen Digate of Wild Canine
• Wisconsin Humane Society

And of course to the volunteers that helped plan and put on this great event!

Right now Milwaukee County Parks is offering a discount on the 2011 DEA permits. If you haven’t already purchased your 2011 Dog Exercise Permit, now is the time! SAVE 60% off of regular permit fees beginning Sept. 6, 2011

• Annual Pass  — regularly $25 for Milw residents, now $10 ($30 for non residents, now $12)
• Senior Annual Pass (Age 60 & up) — regularly $15 for Milw residents, now $6 ($20 for non residents, now $8)
• Person with Disability Annual Pass — regularly $15  for Milw residnets, now $6 ($20 for non residents, now $8)

You can purchase your permit directly from MADACC and several other local pet-related businesses.

Go to http://county.milwaukee.gov/Dogs9203/DogExerciseAreas/Fall-DEA-Permit-Special.htm for more locations and to download an application/form.

Participating Pools
♦ McCarty, 2567 S. 79th St.
♦ Grobschmidt, 2600 16th Ave.
♦ Cool Waters in Greenfield Park, 2028 S. 124th St.

Special Offer
While at the Doggie Dip, purchase your 2011 Dog Exercise Area Permit for only $10—that’s a savings of up to 67%! Be sure to bring the license number and rabies tag number for each of your dogs.

Advance Admission Bracelets
Due to the popularity of the Doggie Dips, you can buy your admission the day before the dip. You will receive a bracelet that allows you to enter the pool without waiting in the admissions line.

In case of inclement weather, call the Pool Hotline at (414) 257-7230.

2011 Admission: $5 per dog

Listen to the interview here.

Go to our registration page to pre-register for Bark Day and let us know if you are attending the Walk as well. Registration is $5 per dog and can be done online here. Those that register in advance will get an entry in a raffle for a special prize including a 2012 dog park permit.

If you are attending the Walk and want to collect pledges you can download a pledge form here, remember that $25 in pledges gets you a Bark Day Bandanna for your dog.

More info on the event an be found at the Washington Bark Day website.

Stay tuned for times and price as well as info on pre-registration for the Labor Day dip.