Dogged persistence pays off

The Crescenta Valley dog park — officially opened to the public on Friday — cost $645,000 in voter-approved Proposition A money. But it’s hard to put a price tag on the community activism and grass-roots lobbying that really made it a reality.

The prize? La Crescenta got the first off-leash dog park owned and operated by Los Angeles County. On Friday, dogs off all sizes got to share in the benefits of the dogged perseverance of Crescenta Valley community leaders over the course of more than five years to bring the facility to fruition.

From a community campaign for support signatures to personal lobbying that reached the ear of county Supervisor Mike Antonovich, the 1.5-acre facility at Crescenta Valley Park was surely a group effort that will benefit the region for years to come.

Throughout it all, Community Volunteers for Dogs Off-Leash Gathering and Socializing kept up the effort, and on Friday, they and other supporters rightly basked in the light of victory.

Now, the little dog park campaign that stands not just as a community asset, but as a reminder of how powerful community organizing can be. And that’s something we can all bark about.