ColaDog.org - Information about COLA in support of off-leash dog parks
Title
Citizens for Off-Leash Areas (COLA)
Description
In September of 1997, the Seattle City Council voted 9-0 to establish permanent of-leash areas in Seattle and developed a process for new off-leash areas to be created. This vote was the result of over six years of organizing, planning, and public process in which many hundreds of Seattle citizens attended dozens of meetings and thousands more wrote, faxed, and telephoned the City Council.
In the early 1990s, several local citizens identified the need for several sites in Seattle where people could recreate with their off-leash dogs. These tax-paying citizens saw that many of the Seattle Parks have dedicates areas to soccer fields, baseball fields, and other recreational uses. They, and many others, believed that supervised off-leash activity within designated areas was also valid use of public space.
During the summer of 1994, complaints about Animal Control officers - who patrolled in pairs and frequently used the Seattle Police Department for back-up - became a source of concern for the Seattle City Council. Council member Jan Drago stepped forward and began a public process of community involvement that would culminate in the creation of the off-leash areas.
