[Mpls] Minnehaha Park Danger

[Robin Hartl]

The Minnehaha Off-Leash park had been used for more than 20 years by dog owners before it became a legal off-leash area. There were no reported incidents of falling off the cliff during that time. Even if an incident wouldn't have been officially reported, the people that frequent that area know when something happens and they tell everyone. None of us had ever heard a thing in the past. I believe these incidents are now occurring because we have people visiting the park that are not familiar with the dangerous cliff area. Signs have now been put up today to warn people of the danger. One of the rules of the dog park is that your dog must be under voice control. If your dog will not respond to voice control, you should not be using this park. Use one of the other parks that are totally fenced in. I have voice control over my two dogs and when they start to get near the cliffs I call them immediately and they come. I saw two people standing along the edge of the cliff yesterday watching their dog run up and down the cliff. I then saw, 5 minutes before that, someone throwing a stick to their dog toward the cliff. Bottom line, if you do not have voice control over your dog (and children), don't use this site!   Robin Hartl