User Profile #1: Peppe

NAME: Pepee

BREED: Papillion Pomeranian (PomPap)

AGE: 10

RESIDENCE: Kennydale/Renton

FAVORITE PARK ACTIVITY: Sniffing the perimeter

NON-PARK ACTIVITIES: Long walks, hiking

CANINE HEROES: Buck, Sarge, Murphy the Stimulus Dog (every dog needs money, food and dog treats, of course)

HUMAN HE’D MOST LIKE TO EMULATE: The King of Germany, where Pomeranians come from

OTHER PARKS FREQUENTED: Marymoor

ADOPTED: The King County Humane Society (Kent)

http://www.kingcounty.gov/safety/AnimalServices/shelters.aspx

Happy Dog-O-Ween!

The Seattle-based Citizens for Off-Leash Areas (COLA) sponsored its annual Dog-O-Ween festivities at the Genesee Dog Park last week.

The canine costume contest is gone - but you still have an opportunity today to celebrate Halloween by humiliating your dog by dressing him up as Count Chocula, a cast member from True Blood, or the balloon boy from Colorado. Or even scarier, former GOP presidential contender, Governor Mark Sanford of South Carolina!

Is it wrong to dress dogs as humans - and some of them D-list celebrities? Hard to argue that point. But on the other hand, look at what we do for our dogs. We feed them, we chauffeur them to play dates, we pick up their poop (hopefully, at the dog park). If that type of love is wrong, do you wanna be right?

Consider this: Is it any less wrong to outfit your dog in a Snuggie?

Your dog isn't good enough to ride Sound Transit

Have no car and plan to visit the city's off-eash areas? You gotta go Metro: Sound Transit bars dogs (service animals notwithstanding) that are not crated or contained from riding their spiffy buses, trains and light rail.

Metro permits canine ridership regardless of service status. A small dog that fits on a owner's lap rides free. "Large" dogs must be leashed, Metro says. These hulking creatures, according to Metro, "pay the same fare as their owner and may not occupy a seat, but should ride on the floor of the coach next to their owner." Pay full fare and sit on the sticky floor. How's that for third- or fourth-class citizenship?

On the other hand, it's not like light rail takes you where you need to go. And nobody complains if your dog smells... he fits right in with a few of his fellow passengers.

If you want to discuss public transportation and dog ridership with your friends at Metro and Sound Transit:

http://metro.kingcounty.gov/cs/feedback_choose.html

http://www.soundtransit.org/About-Us/Contact-Us.xml

If you want to plan a bus trip to Genesee Park and the lovely Rainier Valley via Metro:

http://tripplanner.kingcounty.gov/cgi-bin/itin_page.pl?resptype=U

Where is the Genesee off-leash park? And is Rainier Valley "lovely"?

The Genesee off-leash area is located at the intersection of South Genesee Street and 46th Avenue South in Seattle's lovely Rainier Valley. Make that gentrifying Rainier Valley.

The 3.2-acre, fully fenced facility has ample room for fetching Frisbees and tennis balls, canine wrestling, refereeing, running amok, and leisurely strolls along the parameters of the park.

Most dog owners are responsible individuals who keep their eyes on their canines to ensure that "play nicely" with their canine mates. Those less-careful individuals will find rebuffed by their contemporaries. A couple years ago, several people attempted to confront a man whose pit bull reportedly attacked a much smaller dog. The smaller dog reportedly suffered a broken leg that required surgery. Rather than address his responsibilities, the loser slunk off to a nearby greenbelt like a coward. If the coward had been apprehended, he wouldn't made it home until paid for the injured dog's wounds.

Come visit if you're in Southeast Seattle. And you're a responsible dog owner/parent.

And is the Rainier Valley "lovely"? Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

http://www.mapquest.com/maps/map.adp?country=US&address=46th+Avenue+South+and+South+Genesee+Street&city=Seattle&state=WA

Bo Obama: The first 100 days

A belated Ho'omaika'i 'Ana (Hawaiian for "congratulations") to Bo Obama, the Portuguese Water Spaniel who celebrated 100 days of residency at the White House.

Granted, Bo hasn't enacted a national health plan or achieved peace in the Middle East. (In all due fairness, his owner hasn't seen much more success in those arenas. But that will change.) The current canine resident at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue has provided a welcome diversion from the unpleasantness of unconscionable CEO bonuses, national home foreclosure crisis and the suddenly hot, post-season bat of admitted steroid user, New York Yankees third baseman Alex "A-Rod" Rodriguez. Go, Phillies.

For more information about the First Dog, go to Animal Planet at:

http://animal.discovery.com/the-spot/bo-obama/

What does this post have to do with the "Dog denizens of Genesee Park"? Absolutely nothing. It's not like we'll see the real Bo and a swarm of Secret Service agents visiting our off-leash park in the lovely Rainier Valley. Buy would you rather read as I rant and rave about negligent owners who wont pick up dog doody at the park?

I thought not.

Pick up, clean up... or stay home

The weather is getting colder.

The days are getting shorter

The ground is wet, and the grass is longer.

All excuses for not cleaning up after your dog. And all are lame.

The grassy knolls of the park are dotted with fecal landmines with the piles of poop that aren’t being picked up and deposited in the waste cans. Even worse, the sandy and rocky areas are camouflaged with doody-coated surprises. Just what the surface of your waffle-soled shoes or boots that you're wearing need.

Good people of the park: Pick up after your dogs. We users are all stewards of the park, and bear responsibility for its upkeep. Inattention and indifference are poor excuses for failing to pick up after your pooches. Put your iPhone and coffee cup down, take a break from your conversations... and put fecal litter in its place.

If this were FaceBook, we could start a group called "Pick up after your f*****g dog" -- and post pictures of repeat offenders. Dogs and humans.

Hopefully, it won't come to that.