The Athens Dog Park: A Space for Everyone?

Spaces of Representation

This space is planned to be a space that allows dog owners to have their dogs roam freely. This is because of the strict leash laws that govern dog owners in Athens.  It is physically delineated within a larger park system in Athens by fences so as to keep the dogs within the space.  It’s loosely patrolled by vigilante dog owners who feel the need to uphold the rules. The park is fenced in order to keep dogs in, which functions as a manifestation of control over the area. According to the city of Athens’ website, rules for the dog park are as follows: all dogs at the park must be leashed at all time, clean up all messes, and close all gates.

The Athens Dog Park is a prime example of a representation of space because it was constructed as a place for owners of all types of dogs.  Many spaces in Athens don’t allow dogs, but this space was designed for use specifically by them and their owners. Looking at the posted dog park rules, there are no restrictions placed on the size of the dogs allowed to use the park. However as we will see, the actual use of the dog park does not always allow for owners of all types of dogs.

Representational Space

The dog park was constructed with the intent that all dog owners could bring their pets to this space.  Owners of small dogs bring them to the park so that they can simply get outside. Owners of larger dogs, however, bring their animals to the park so they can burn off their copious amounts of energy. What often results is larger dogs invading the space of smaller dogs, terrorizing them, and angering the small dogs’ owners.  This space was not physically planned to accommodate these two different types of dogs and their owners. Evidence for this is provided by the size of the dog park’s features. Clearly, the rocks and tunnels present are designed for larger dogs. Joy and Zen are able to only examine, rather than use, these features.  Small dog owners, therefore, were absent.

Spaces for Representation
In an effort to challenge the margianalizing norm that small dogs are absent and excluded from the dog park, we brought two Chihuahuas, Joy and Zen, to the dog park to interact with larger dogs. As we expected, only larger dogs were present at the dog park. Immediately upon entering, a larger dog growled at us and at Joy and Zen.  The dog park rules sign clearly states that owners need to keep control of “unruly dogs.” However, the owner of this dog, rather than apologizing simply commented on how cute the Chihuahuas were. Rather than taking note of the fear exhibited by Joy and Zen at the behavior of her dog, she contributed to marginalizing behavior that leads many small dog owners to refrain from using the park.

Interview

After briefly speaking with Ken’s roommate Eric, the owner of Joy and Zen, we found out his perception on the Athens Dog Park:

“The idea is great; it’s one of the only places in Athens where dogs can run freely and meet other dogs.  The problem is that little dogs are left out.  My dogs are terrified of all things bigger than them.  Even though some bigger dogs don’t mean to, they scare Joy and Zen when they run up and pounce on them.  My dogs don’t like going to the dog park because of that.  It doesn’t accommodate them. There isn’t a space for them to run around without being afraid.”

As we can see, the dog park does not fulfill the needs of every dog.  Non-aggressive dogs still frighten the smallest of pooches due to the nature of the park, and because of this, dogs like Joy and Zen are “left out” of the dog park.