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Dog-Gone It: Vandals Leave Their Mark on Off-Leash Park Agility Course

Two incidents have occurred at the Off-Leash Area Edmonds dog park.

The new agility course built at the end of October at the has been vandalized twice, the most recent incident occurring Monday.

Both times, it was the dog jumps that have been destroyed, says OLAE founding member and Edmonds City Councilmember Diane Buckshnis.

, on the north side of the popular gathering spot for dogs and their owners at Marina Beach Park, was the result of an Eagle Scout project by Alex Young and Boy Scout Troop 312.

"Those boys and their families spent many hours creating this wonderful addition to our park,” said OLAE director and scout master Shay Hastler. “It's sad that people can't respect other people's property." Hastler and Edmonds Parks and Recreation manager Rich Lindsay both managed the detailed and time-consuming Eagle Scout project process, said Buckshnis.

The agility course consist of three jumps, a set of weave poles and an A-frame ramp.

Buckshnis says that Lindsay had park crews repaired the first instance of damage two weeks ago.

“This newest incident showed that rather than one jump, now two had been destroyed,” said Buckshnis. “Mr. Lindsay was more than kind and said perhaps a very big dog destroyed the jumps. Park crews will be repairing the damage in the upcoming week. If you see any suspicious behavior at the dog park, please call 911 to report the incident.”

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Earl January 4, 2012 at 01:25 pm
I think it's nice that the boy scouts do projects like this, but maybe it's time to step to a more durable product. I have found some great products on dog-on-it-parks.com and the costs are pretty low compared to the man hours the city is spending to have a couple of parks & rec people go out and fix or replace these items.
Charlotte Reynolds January 4, 2012 at 02:13 pm
I took my dogs there for the first time back in November after moving to Edmonds and I honestly didn't feel safe having them play on that equipment. It is sad that people are disrespecting the park and the hard work the boy scouts put into it, but it kind of says something that it fell apart so easily especially if it was only a dog that did it.
Diane B January 4, 2012 at 04:12 pm
Thank you for your comments, we are looking into a different product. It is pretty obvious that a dog did not uproot a cemented jump. We have had many instances of vandalism and "stolen plastic bag rolls" (hence the locks on the kiosk) and stainless steel water bowls. Unfortunately the majority of the folks respect this wonderful venue and there are others that use it as their own fun, sans dogs.
Brian Soergel January 4, 2012 at 05:08 pm
Diane: Thanks for replying to readers' comments.
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