PARK RULES

GENERAL RULES

1. Use of the park is at your own risk. You are responsible for your own safety and that of your dog and anyone you allow to enter the Park who is not a member.
2. All rules and posted Dog Park signs are important; please adhere to the rules, including the Dog Park hours of operation.
3. Show respect for the neighbors and surrounding properties as you access and use the Dog Park. Excessive dog barking is the most common complaint we have received.
4. The Dog Park has promised Park Pleasant and the neighbors that we will pick up the trash outside the park on Chester Ave and 48th Street. Do your part. If you see some trash, pick it up.
5. Each of us is responsible for the success of the Dog Park. If you see another member who is not following the Rules, please remind the member. If you see another member who is not following the Rules, it is your responsibility to remind the member about the Rules.

USING THE DOG PARK

1. Walk your dog to the Park whenever possible. Per the city ordinance, your dog must be on leash in public areas. Bring your dog to the gate on leash, and keep your dog on leash until you have closed the outer gate to the Park and your dog is between the double gates of the dog park.
2. Secure the outer gate upon entering. NEVER open the interior gate until the outer gate is secured. Do not give your key to anyone who is not a member. This rule is for the safety of members and their dogs.
3. Clean up after your dog immediately. Plastic bags for cleanup purposes are available in labeled bins located in two locations in the Park. Bring bags to replenish the supply. If you see poop in the Park that has been overlooked, clean it up!
4. All dogs must wear a collar or harness at all times while in the Park. If you use a self-restraining (prong or pinch) collar on your dog, you must remove it and replace it with another collar (buckled collars are strongly recommended rather than choke collars) upon entering the Park to avoid injury to your or other dogs during play.
5. Close both gates carefully upon exiting, and check that the outer gate is locked before you walk away.

DOG BEHAVIOR IN THE PARK

1. Never leave your dog unattended. Try to keep your dog within your line of sight at all times.
2. We recommend you call your dog to you from time to time and interact with him/her to maintain control.
3. If your dog behaves aggressively toward a human being in the Park, you must remove your dog.
4. If your dog behaves aggressively toward another dog, both dogs cannot remain in the Park at that time. If the other owner is not ready to leave, the owner of the aggressor must leave the park and return at another time.
5. If your dog barks repeatedly while in the Park, and you are unable to quiet it, you must leave the park and return at another time. If the barking is “encouraged” by individuals outside the Park, please ask them to move away.
6. Cats that are the neighbors’ pets are sometimes in the Park. If you see a cat, leash or hold your dog. Do not allow your dog to chase cats in the Park.

HUMAN BEHAVIOR IN THE DOG PARK

1. A member may not bring more than 3 dogs to the Park at one time.
2. You must be at least 16 years of age to be in the Park without supervision, whether with or without your family’s dog.
3. Visitors are permitted in the Dog Park only if accompanied by a Dog Club member who assumes all responsibility for the visitor. No “visiting” dogs are allowed.
4. If you smoke, provide your own ashtray/cigarette disposal container. No cigarette butts are to be left in the park.
5. If you groom your dog in the Park, place discarded hair in the trash cans.
6. Please limit loud conversation/laughing, which, like barking, could disturb neighbors. Try not raise your voice unless necessary to control your dog.
7. Toys and water bowls provided by the Membership of the Park for general use should be left in the Park so that others may enjoy them. Do not leave toys in the Park unless you intend to donate them to the Park.

EMERGENCIES

1. In case of a medical emergency, emergency telephone numbers are posted in the Park. Park Pleasant Nursing Home will allow Dog Club members access to their telephones if it is necessary to call for emergency (police, fire, emergency medical) assistance. If more than one member is present at the time of the emergency, one person should call while others remain in the Park to supervise the dogs.
2. Members with cell phones are encouraged to carry them in the Park, particularly if they expect to be alone with their dogs.

THE FOLLOWING ARE NOT ALLOWED IN THE DOG PARK:

Dogs that are in season (female dogs “in heat”). (This is for the sake of safety, as many dogs, male and female, unneutered or neutered, can become extremely aggressive in the presence of a female in season.)

Dogs less than four months old. (Puppies under the age of 4 months usually cannot be fully vaccinated, and are both susceptible to and potential carriers of disease.)

Dogs with a diagnosed communicable disease or condition that can be transmitted to other dogs by contact or by dog waste. (If your dog has a positive fecal examination, please keep out of the Park until a negative examination has been obtained. It would also be courteous to inform other Dog Club members of the possibility of contagion.)

Dogs over six months of age that do not have current a Philadelphia dog license and rabies vaccination. (See membership agreement.) {Please note that rabies vaccinations are not usually recommended for dogs under the age of 6 months, and a license cannot be obtained without a rabies vaccination.}

Dogs whose owners are not members of the Dog Club.