Building Community and Sustainability: Dog Parks

     When thinking of dog parks, must people associate them with benefiting the dog. However, dogs serve as an icebreaker for people to get to know each other. They make people comfortable, allowing them to more easily build relationships with each other. Dogs, a common interest, of those who walk their dogs in the park or just those visiting the park bring people from different backgrounds together. By allowing people to meet each other, community can be built where people feel as if they belong. Additionally, people traveling are more likely to stay in an area that is dog-friendly as it will be safer than areas that are not. This will enhance a community's tourism, building a different kind of community. By having a dog park, it also motivates people to get dogs and visit the park, which will then lead to increased interaction with other people. Dogs also give women, children, and handicapped people more of a sense of security, increases their likelihood of going out of their home to interact with the community.
     In many dog parks, an effort is being made to increase sustainability by transforming waste from the dogs into compost. The bags that owners use to pick up their dog's waste are made of a biodegradable material such as corn. These bags are then taking to a compost in the area. In other parks, the waste is collected and used to make power from the methane emitted. In addition to this effort, many parks are striving to reuse the water from the parks' fountains or other areas. However, this has proved difficult and is still under progress.