Ashley Brody has a rambunctious, 85-pound Great Dane/Labrador mix named Duke. They live in a Broadlands townhouse with a pocket-sized backyard.
The leggy Duke takes up most of that space in just one quick leap.
That's why Brody is spearheading an effort to get an off-leash dog park established in Ashburn. It would be the county's first.
When Brody takes Duke to dog parks in Herndon and Reston, the big dog takes full advantage of the open space.
"He'll come home and he'll be exhausted," Brody said.
Brody's efforts are still in the fledgling stage; she's advertised in neighborhood newsletters and hosted one gathering of interested dog owners in Broadlands so far.
"My goal is just to raise awareness about the need for a park and that dog parks do exist," Brody said. "I think once people know there could be one, the interest will grow."
She isn't the first one to think that a dog park in the county would be a good idea. Three years ago, an organization called Responsible Dog Owners Group approached the county's Parks, Recreation and Community Services department and pitched the same idea.
THE GROUP fizzled before making a formal presentation to the Board of Supervisors. There's still a strong sentiment about dog parks, however, said Mark Novak, chief park planner with the county.
"There are a lot of citizens in the county that are interested in some form of off-lease park," Novak said.
To make it happen, however, citizen participation is vital. The county has no dog parks "on the horizon," Novak said, and a community-run pilot park would be the only way to get the county to take notice.
"The county has no funding to provide to build the facilities," Novak said. "It would have to come from the volunteer corp."
Novak has made presentations to homeowners' associations that have expressed interest in a dog park, telling them the same thing: the parks department can help, but the effort must come from the community.
The park department could provide the site for a 1-acre dog park, Novak said.
"The group may not be able to get a dog park right there in the center [of Ashburn]," Novak said. "We might have to put up a prototype elsewhere."
Once one park is established, however, Novak is confident that more will follow.
"If it succeeds, it opens up the eyes of others who say it's not such a bad thing to have," he said.
EVEN A NICE dog can sometimes still run into trouble in an off-leash park, said Animal Control Dispatcher Amy Seymour.
"Some dog behavior is unpredictable," Seymour said. "Some dogs are OK until you try to take the ball or Frisbee from him and then he's not OK."
Behavior assessments to test a dog's reaction to other dogs are available online, Seymour said.
While most family dogs are friendly, so are their owners, Novak said — and that makes the dog park even more attractive.
"It's not just a dog park for the dogs," he said. "It's for the dog owners to socialize."
For More Information
To learn more about how to help establish a dog park in Ashburn, contact Ashley Brody at ashley@thebrodys.net.