One minute, the dogs are living large, hanging on the sands, fetching balls from the surf, keeping order among warring flocks of seagulls. The next, in the name of progress and summer tourists, it’s this: a barren, pebble-lined, fenced-in desperate stretch of land nestled in the shadow of the Ocean City’s sewage waste treatment facility (ok, fittingly nestled, but still). Its own website euphemistically and apologetically describes the park as “sterile.” Even my dumb dogs would know this is not exactly doggie heaven.
Officially known as the Cape May County/Ocean City Dog Park, it was unveiled last month to the backyard-challenged dogowners of the shore as a refuge during summer, when their dogs are suddenly canis non grata on the beaches. They are promising some trees at some point. It’s located at 45th and Haven Streets, with the scary-big pipes of the treatment facilities as the view, complete with the sounds of sewage being treated as you scoop your dog’s poop. Four blocks away, the beach beckons.
Once the dog lovers of Ocean City dreamed of getting a stretch of actual beach front declared open for dogs, even just in the early morning hours. But all their efforts _ and they were considerable _ resulted in this penitentiary-like setting on the bayside of the island. There are a few amenities: a tire to jump through, a cute little water fountain at dog height, double entrances so your dog doesn’t go chasing after a new friend, and, eventually, the company of other dogs. There’s lots of room to throw a ball and to run. It costs $35 a year for out-of-county folks to get a “Paw Pass,” $25 for locals and $10 for a week. Mandy, a 9-year-old miniature pinscher, was the only dog there today. “It is kind of bleak,” her owner, Gene Hall, said. “It’s all gravel. But if you try to take them to the beach anymore, it’s like a federal case.”
This is Mandy, walking the perimeter of the park. I say, better off jumping in the car and heading for that beach on the other side of the Ocean City-Longport Bridge, one of the rare ones where dogs are actually welcome. Or, doing what most people do, sneaking the dogs on the beach in the wee hours.
www.oceancitydogpark.org.
UPDATE: Dog owner paranoia running high in Ocean City, with rumors of dogs being taken into custody from the beach and whisked away in caged trucks, reports one reader. In fact, that has been known to happen, Sgt. Dan Dubbs of the Ocean City police told me this morning, though he could not say if animal control had been on the case recently. "If the dog's running at large and the owner's not near it, and somebody reports it, they take it until they can find the owner. Nine times out of ten when the dog's running down the beach, the owner's within half a block, and you see the person."
As to the alternative of the new
dog park by the waste treatment plant, Sgt. Dubbs said; "I have no comment on that."
