Ruff Part of Town

For Spencer, Wally and Cheyenne, access to the infamous ring of open space around Thousand Oaks is as elusive as a prime rib dinner.

To them, Thousand Oaks is leash-ville, a place where canine liberty means a big back yard or an occasional illegal sneak through the park with their nervous owners keeping an eye out for Animal Control.

But the exercise options for these three dogs are about to change.

The Conejo Recreation and Park District board of directors recently approved a conceptual plan to open a dog park in Thousand Oaks, marking Ventura County’s first venture into a rapidly growing trend in Southern California.

The dog park would give owners a chance to drop their leashes and let their pets run free, legally.

That’s a privilege some Thousand Oaks residents have been seeking for years. In a city that prides itself on having so much open space, dog park advocates reason there ought to be enough room for their animals to enjoy an unfettered romp on a regular basis.

“What do you think about when you think about Thousand Oaks?” asked Cheyenne’s owner, Laura Salant. “Thousand Oaks is about open space, enjoying the outdoors and having freedom. It makes sense that we should have a place to let our dogs run free.”

Salant is a member of Park ‘n Bark, a nonprofit group residents formed several years ago to help make the dog park a reality. Although the mailing list is quite long--going to more than 100 dogs and their owners--there are about a dozen regular participants.

“Our theme song is ‘Born Free,’ ” joked Larry Schalk, Wally’s owner and informal leader of the group.

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The Park ‘n Barkers meet at Triunfo Community Park, which park district General Manager Tex Ward said would be a likely location for the dog park.

“It’s the No. 1 candidate,” Ward said.

But he said the district still needs to study the idea, talk to homeowners in the area and hold public hearings before proceeding with plans.

Under the conceptual agreement, part of the rear of the park would be fenced off, keeping dogs away from any non-canine park users. Tables, benches and a drinking fountain would be built inside the dog park, with costs to be split between the park district and Park n’ Bark members.

Park n’ Bark would also pay for any extra maintenance costs at the dog park, as well as the installation of plastic bag dispensers for the dogs’ waste.

Costs could run to $10,000, members said. They are planning a fund-raiser at the North Ranch Country Club in September--the Howler’s Ball.

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It’s a price members are more than willing to pay. Pet owners have looked longingly to the south as dog parks have cropped up in Los Angeles County.

The benefits are two-fold, Park ‘n Bark members said. For starters, dogs that play together learn how to relate to each other and as a result are better behaved in social settings.

“To have a socialized dog, they have to be able to meet each other,” said Spencer’s owner, Debby Carloni. “That is how they learn.”

As Spencer and a pack of his leashed canine friends whirled around her, barking, growling and nipping at each other on a recent evening at Triunfo Community Park, Carloni explained leash mentality.

“When dogs are on a leash, they feel they have to defend the person who is holding the leash and their territory,” she said. “You let them run loose, they solve their own problems.”

The second benefit of a dog park, advocates said, is the pleasure owners take in getting to know each other.

“I met all my best friends here,” said Seema Dorfman, as her basset hound-Labrador mix dog, Dudley, took a friendly sniff at a pit bull mix named Patti.

The Thousand Oaks dog park would be the first in Ventura County, where violations of strict leash laws lead to about 2,000 citations annually, according to Animal Control Officer Kathie Jenks.

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But the idea has caught on like wildfire in Los Angeles County, particularly in Laurel Canyon Park, where dogs frolic on 3.7 acres in the city’s first official dog park. A second park opened at the Silver Lake Recreation Center in 1995, and this spring the parks commission approved a 9.7-acre, leash-free zone in the Sepulveda Basin.

Dog parks have not been without controversy. Jenks opposes them, saying they have potential to cause trouble.

“You get a pair of male dogs off the leash and they are going to be at each other’s throats,” Jenks said.

Her suggestion for stretching canine legs? Downsizing.

“If people don’t have a yard big enough to exercise their dog, they need to get a smaller dog,” she said firmly.

But Bruce Richards, animal control officer for the Los Angeles County shelter in Agoura, which provides regulation service for Thousand Oaks on a special contract, has a different philosophy.

“Dog parks are great,” Richards said. “A lot of great lifetime friendships are built over them.

“It’s an opportunity to let your dog be a free spirit,” he added. “And usually you get an opportunity to meet with other people who have the same agenda.”