Why Dog Parks matter and how legislation can help out

Odin and his buddy playing at the beach. 

It was a group of nine people coming from different professional background and descent coming together every afternoon, but they all have something in common- their love for dogs.

This group of dog lovers come here daily to walk their dogs
and socialize with other dog lovers, too. 

During my homestay, my hosts Michelle and Joe introduced me to their two-year old dog and baby,  Odin who is a big sweet dog with black hair. After walking at the beach with Michelle and before having dinner, Joe and Michelle brought me to Kaha Park for Odin to play with other dogs.

With handsome and sweet Odin.

They meet every afternoon after work to allow their pets to play and to poop, but of course they have plastic bag which they use to pick dog poops. Dogs can run freely in this park without any leash, while their owners chat with each other about work and their advocacies.

Michelle and Joe playing with other dogs.

Benefits of having Dogs

According to some dog owners I met at Kailua, because of their dogs they get to destress, to mingle and to meet other people. I find it interesting how dogs can easily bring people together, and how people easily connect with other when they talk about their dogs.

Corner (2009), writes that emotional bonds is one of benefits from pet ownership especially people with inadequate human social support.

I learned from Michelle and some of her colleagues in the dog lovers community some of the benefits of having Dog Parks in the community which include having a healthier community since dogs could encourage to walk in them making the said person be physically active, community will show value and importance to pets as well as pet lovers, children will be taught the value of responsibility at a young age by having pets and by taking care of them such as walking them in parks, and dog parks could bring the people and community closer.

Advocating for Dog Parks

On Sunday of my homestay, Michelle and I walked Odin at the beach and Odin just carelessly enjoyed the sun, the sea. He was wearing his leash for easy catch whenever he is being difficult.

Here, we met Samantha Miller or just Jen. She is the dog owner of this totally awesome dog which knows how to swim and she is the person who leads the advocacy for having dog parks. In our conversation at the beach, Jen said that pet dogs must have the right to freely play in parks.

Jen added that there is now an ongoing public hearing on their concern to have it passed by legislature, but they still need to educate more people about their advocacy. She added that she can go house-to-house to disseminate information about their advocacy and to convince residents there on their campaign to have legislation act on it.

With Jen and Michelle who are lead persons in advocating
for Dog Parks in Kailua.

Source: WalletHub

2017 Most Pet-Friendly Cities

In October this year, WalletHub wrote an article listing the 100 most-pet friendly cities in the United States of America. The article ranked each city based on Pet-Budget, Pet Health and Wellness, and Outdoor Pet-Friendliness.

The city of Scottsdale in Arizona led the overall rank with a total score of 65.93, ranked 80th on Pet Budget, ranked first on Pet Health and Wellness, and second on Outdoor Pet-Friendliness. Meanwhile, Honolulu City of Hawaii only ranked 98 overall with a total score of 39.69, ranked 79th on Pet-Budget, ranked last on Pet Health and Wellness, and 34th on Outdoor Pet-Friendliness.

"Our data set ranges from minimum pet-care provider rate per visit to pet businesses per capita to walkability," said the article.

Michelle dressing Odin up for Halloween.

Odin in his Batman costume.

Inspiring Legislation

I am grateful to Joe, Michelle, Jen, and the rest of the dog lovers community for informing on their advocacy which could be adapted in our own municipality through legislation. In our town, we only have the Anti-Rabies Ordinance which is closely related to pets and responsible pet ownership.


Being the committee chairperson on Agriculture in our council, this could be a good initiative to care for pet owners especially dog lovers in our community.
I admire the courage of this group, but I admire their love and care for the protection and health of their pets more. Surely, pets are not just there to play around with, but pets are family, too.