Located just outside east Vancouver, Pacific Community Park meets most of the American Kennel Club’s standards. The off-leash area is enclosed by a four-foot chain link fence with two double-gated entrances. It includes a ½-mile trail, a modified agility course, shade trees and two bubbling canine water fountains. For owners there are nearby restrooms, picnic tables, benches and parking lots.

There is no separate small-dog area, which the American Kennel Club recommends to protect petite pets and reduce the possibility of attacks such as the Tuesday dog fight at Vancouver’s Ross Off-Leash Park. But such a designated area could be added based on user feedback, county officials said.

Pacific Community Park’s amenities represent a leap forward for dog-park fans.

The only other permanent dog park in Clark County, Ross Off-Leash Park, was built by the nonprofit Dog Owners Group for Park Access in Washington (DOGPAW) and is maintained by volunteers.

Pacific Community Park’s off-leash area will be maintained by volunteers, but was constructed with taxpayer money. That means the nonprofit can devote fundraising efforts toward developing three additional dog parks. Those parks will be in Brush Prairie, near Vancouver Lake Park and close to the Clark County Event Center at the Fairgrounds. Buy-in from the county “shows that we demonstrated the support and need that exists in this community for off-leash areas,” said DOGPAW co-founder and chairwoman Pam Goe.

In other communities, it’s common for parks departments to handle construction and maintenance of dog parks. Across the river, the majority of the Rose City’s 30-plus dog parks fall under Portland Parks & Recreation Department’s purview.

During the planning process for Pacific Community Park, many groups jockeyed for space. DOGPAW was successful primarily because it already had a presence at the site and had maintained an unofficial off-leash area there. It also won out because it represented so many people, said Clark County Public Works Director Pete Capell. There are nearly 1,200 DOGPAW members in Clark County.

“As we develop sites, we want to serve the most people, and there was a large outcry at Pacific for an off-leash area,” Capell said.

Keeping dogs safe

Dog parks give urban dwellers a place to exercise and socialize their dogs, balancing the freedom of open space with the safety of a fenced enclosure.

Those fences can lull owners into complacency, however, creating potentially dangerous conditions. In the incident at Ross Off-Leash Park last week, three Rottweilers attacked a beagle and injured the beagle’s owner when he tried to break up the fight.

The fight was particularly tragic because it could have been prevented, Goe said.

“If everyone had been watching their dogs, this incident probably wouldn’t have happened,” she said.

Park rules require people to keep their dogs within sight and voice range. However, many owners think that because it’s a fenced area, they don’t have to pay attention to their pets, Goe said. Keeping tabs on your dog can be particularly challenging in parks as big as Ross and Pacific, she added.

It’s important to stay near your dog to observe cues such as raised hackles, stiff posturing and growling, which indicate that the animal is becoming agitated, Goe said.

“Dogs don’t just attack out of the blue. There’s an escalation of behavior,” she said.

Watching for warning signs gives owners the chance to remove the aggressive dog from the park before an attack occurs.

Reports of dog park attacks resulting in serious injury are very rare, said Clark County Animal Control Officer Patrick Higbie. Still, scuffles do happen.

DOGPAW has received multiple complaints about dog owners who don’t properly control their pets in off-leash areas, which prompted the group to rethink its safety strategy, Goe said.

It may appoint volunteer monitors to patrol the off-leash parks it maintains, providing safety education and enforcing rules. DOGPAW also recently created a safety task force composed of law enforcement officers, veterinarians and dog owners. 

Pacific Community Park was developed on raw land, part of which had served as an unofficial off-leash area.

During construction of the park, the county set up a temporary dog park in the southwest corner of the Pacific lot. The off-leash area later was moved to nearby Fisher-Mill Plain (Vandervort) Park.

With the new park opening this week, the Fisher-Mill Plain dog park will be closed starting July 7, said Jilayne Jordan, parks communications specialist for the county.

Pacific Community Park will celebrate its grand opening Aug. 2 beginning at 9 a.m. There will be a dedication ceremony at noon honoring Dakota, the Vancouver police dog killed in the line of duty last year. 

Mary Ann Albright can be reached at maryann.albright@columbian.com or 360-735-4507.