Halloween Cutefest RESCHEDULED to Sunday, 10/30

Hey everyone, our Halloween Cutefest has been pushed back one day due to the forecast for rain and snow on Saturday.  Please join us on Sunday, October 30!

Join us for "Halloween CuteFest: Puppies on Parade!"

Join us on Saturday, October 29 for "Halloween CuteFest: Puppies on Parade!" (bring your kids too!).  You know your pooch has always dreamed of being Superpooch!

Meet at the BLDPA table at 3:30 (by the dog park) for dog treats, cider, cookies and conversation!  Get your photo taken by our volunteer photographer and then join us for a short parade around the park and our neighborhood.

This event is part of the LeDroit Park Civic Association's Oktoberfest event scheduled for 11-5 on 10/29.  See their press release on the event:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

(Washington, D.C.) The LeDroit Park Civic Association and Common Good City Farm are pleased to announce the 1st Annual LeDroit Park OktoberFest.  

OktoberFest is a family and community-oriented event with live music and entertainment, games, food and local vendors.  The event will also feature Common Good City Farm’s Harvest Festival, an afternoon of activities like pumpkin carving and painting, scarecrow making, face painting and more!   

OktoberFest entertainment will include the Peacemakers, one of the original "go go" groups in Washington, DC, eisa taiko drumming and dancing by the CHIN HAMAYA CULTURE CENTER, and traditional German-style music and games. 

The LeDroit Park Civic Association thanks the following sponsors for supporting this community event:  Wells Fargo Bank, Busboys and Poets, Zipcar and Howard University.

OktoberFest will be held on Saturday, October 29, 2011, from 11AM - 5PM at the Park at LeDroit, located on the 300 and 400 blocks of Elm St., NW.   The Harvest Festival will be held 11AM – 2PM at the Common Good City Farm (entrance between 2nd & 4th Sts. on V St., NW).

This event is free and open to the public.

For more information, contact Marc Morgan, President, LeDroit Park Civic Association at morgan@morganfordc.com or visit the LeDroit Park Civic Association website at www.ledroitparkdc.org.   You can also follow us on Twitter @ledroitparkdc and find us on Facebook: www.facebook.com/ledroitparkcivicassociation.

Early Close Tonight

Dear BLDPA members
We are closing the dog park around 7 tonight for clean up and to spray disinfectant.
Please let us know if you have any questions.

Thanks!

Looking for Dog Park Assoc. Board Members

Would you like to help with the Bloomingdale Ledroit Dog Park Association?  Several of our Board members will be stepping down at the end of the calendar year and we need new volunteers.  The time commitment is minimal and you get to support an important resource for dog owners in our community.  Please email bldpadogs@gmail.com for more information or if you are interested in volunteering.

Some issues we will be working on:

• Getting the city to fix the drainage issue in the park.
• Trying to find funding (private or DC gov't) for lights for the dog park (like in Shaw dog park).
• Fundraising for a sun shade structure for next summer's hot days.
• Bringing dog behavior training opportunities to the community.

Warning to Dog Owners about Leptospirosis

This was included in the latest Bloomingdale Newsletter. We are very sad for the loss of Luna. : (

From: Paul
Sent: Thursday, October 13, 2011 8:51 AM
Subject: In Memory of Luna

Dear family & friends: Our beloved Luna passed away this morning at an animal hospital in Fairfax, VA. She was brought there yesterday fighting for her life - The doctors believe that she most likely had a virus called Leptospirosis, which will be confirmed within a week from blood tests. We are inconsolable with the loss of our little princess - She was the daughter of our first Jack Russell Terrier, Pippo, and the little girl in our family. We would like to raise awareness of ``Leptospirosis`` - apparently, there is an epidemic according to the Veterinarian and the Animal Hospital. Please notify any dog owners that you may know to research this virus and take the highest precautions. Luna first showed symptoms late Sunday night, she was lethargic and had vomitted. It seemed as though Luna had a general stomach virus, which we have experienced before with both of our dogs and thought it would just pass.

To all DC residents - this is a major epidemic, specifically, here according to the Veterinarian due to the rat problem that we have. Leptospirosis is transmitted to dogs primarily through rat/possum/raccoon urine (that could be found in a puddle, stream, pond, etc) as well as from contact with rats and other infected dogs and infected dog urine. It is highly contagious between dogs and transmittable to humans. There is a vaccine for Leptospirosis (speak to your veterinarian), however, like with most viruses with multiple strains - it can be of limited help (there are 7 different strains). Note to cat owners - This does not affect cats. We need to finally resolve the rat issue in DC immediately! We would like to thank everyone for their support, the doctors and nurses at City Paws and South Paws and our dear friends Mat, Melissa and Ragnhild for their tremendous support and love these last few days. Again, please forward this information to any dog owners you may know. This is a very serious virus that is lethal to dogs and humans as well.

More about Leptospirosis here.

Thank You to our "Dog Days" Sponsors

A belated, but heart-felt, THANK YOU to our sponsors from the Sept. 18th Dog Days event at the dog park (click on logos to be taken to their website):

Kings Pet Grooming

(no link)

Also, everyone who become a member at Dog Days was entered into a raffle for a grooming session with Kings Pet Grooming or a photo session with Houndstooth Photography.  The winners were Tracy Reines and Pat Godfrey.  Congrats!!

Buy a DC Dog License, Get a Dog Park Tag Free!

 

BLDPA can help you with that! We are very pleased to be hosting the DC Department of Health at the dog park on September 18, 11AM to 4PM! You'll get an official dog park tag free when you license your dog!

What you need to bring:

• proof of current rabies and distemper vaccination (can usually be found on your vet receipt)
• proof of sterilization (spay/neuter) (can also be found on your vet receipt)
• check or money order to the "DC Treasurer" Cost: $15 for a spayed or neutered dog OR $50 for an unspayed or unneutered dog (sorry, no cash or credit cards will be accepted)

FOUND DOG!

This dog was found at 18th & Lamont this morning. If you know anything, please call (202) 384-4926. There have been reports of the dog running around the Bloomingdale and Ledroit neighborhoods early today, and a guy on a bike was asking whether people had seen the dog in Ledroit this morning.

RESCHEDULED! Dog Days at the Dog Park

RESCHEDULED!! The Bloomingdale LeDroit Dog Park Association (BLDPA) invites you to join us for our "Dog Days (end) of Summer" event on Sunday, Sept. 18, 2011 at the dog park (11AM-4PM). Having a hard time getting Fido to sit? Talk to the folks at the Washington Humane Society's "Ask the Trainer" booth (1PM-3PM). Do you know what to do about a dog bite? Talk to the DC Dept. of Health and their "Ask the Ve"t table (11AM-4PM). Looking to add to your family? Meet sweet, adoptable dogs at our adoption event (1PM-3PM)! We will also have treats for the pooches from GreenPaws (11AM-4PM), where you can learn why natural pet food is better for your dog. And, of course, meet BLDPA board members and learn how you can get more involved in the dog park.

If you become a paid, voting member of the BLDPA (see our website for more information: www.bldpadogs.org) on Sunday, you will be entered into a raffle for a free photo session for your pooch with Houndstooth Photography.

Meet BLDPA President Maria

Hi, I'm Maria.  Thanks for visiting our new website.  I thought it would be cool if you had a chance to meet our Board of Directors. Thanks to Lindsay for being the first one to post!!

Where to start?  I guess you might be able to call me a Washingtonian - I've lived here since 1991, longer than I have lived anywhere else.  I've been in LeDroit Park since 2005.  Besides serving as President of BLDPA, I am also Vice President of the LeDroit Park Civic Association.  I love working in my community and meeting new and old neighbors alike.  For my full time job, I work on corporate environmental sustainability issues - my focus is raising awareness of environmental issues and promoting behavior change.


I have 3 dogs.  You can say that I'm a big animal lover.  I'm sure you've seen my dogs, Angel and Dora, in the dog park with my fiance, Mark.  Princess (the one with the hat below) is a bit old for the dog park (she is about 15 years old!)  But, you might see me at the corner of Elm and 3rd walking her  v e r y  s l o w l y . . . : )

My vision for our dog park is that it becomes a safe place for all kinds of dogs to come and play.  This will take a lot of effort from the humans using the park most of all.  The first step is to understand whether your dog is ready for the dog park.  Just because there *is* a dog park, does not mean that every dog should go there.  I encourage everyone to read about dog behavior - esp. in the dog park - and please follow the rules posted on the gate.  In addition, the Humane Society has a workshop that we hope to bring to our community in the next few months called "Dog Park Pawlitics".  There are also several books out there such as  Visiting the Dog Park,and  Off-Leash Dog Play.

Thanks for reading!  See you at the dog park!

Meet BLDPA Board Member Lindsey!

Hi, I'm Lindsey.

Woops, that's a bit outdated.

Ah, that's more like it. My friend Chloe took that picture- she's one of my babysitting clients, and also an amazing photographer (for a 4 year old). I babysit for quite a few families in the neighborhood. I'm also an elementary school visual arts teacher at a school in Silver Spring, MD. 

I moved to Bloomingdale about 2 1/2 years ago after living in Petworth. Although I expected to buy my first place in the Logan area, I found my little carriage house here and fell in love with the friendly, quiet neighborhood. After a few renovations, I moved on to Bloomingdale Court and have been happy every since.

I volunteered to be on the board of directors for the BLDP because my dog, Pablo, is a huge part of my life.

He's a 7 year old Westie (West Highland) Terrier, with a little bit of Corgi thrown into the mix. When you see Pablo at the dog park, he will probably be walking along the perimeter fence and "marking" it every three feet or so, or sitting with me on the bench. He's a bit of an old man.

Pablo's best friend is my cat, Max.

He's a semi-blind, totally deaf, sweet as pie senior cat who came to live here in October when his previous owner had to move suddenly.

In future blog posts, I will share some of my short stories about ol' Pablo (and Max), and some of my cartoons. I like to take funny real-life quotes from my experiences in teaching (kids say the darndest things, after all) and combine them with my love of drawing cartoon animals. They're a big hit with my friends and family, so I hope you like them, too!

So... that's me, Secretary of the BLDPA Board of Directors. See you at the park!

- Lindsey :)

Aggressive Dogs Ruin Dog Parks

At the dog park this morning, an owner said to me, "Oh, dogs will be dogs" after his dog  attacked mine for trying to play with the same ball.  Yes, dogs will be dogs, and there will be a certain amount of what can be termed "rough-housing" in the dog park, but it is important, as a dog owner, to know when to draw the line on your dog's behavior.  The owner admitted that his dog can sometimes be toy-aggressive (officially called "territorial aggression").  What I said to the owner was, "If your dog is toy aggressive, perhaps it would be better not to play with toys around other dogs?"

Unfortunately, since our dog park opened a few months ago, I've heard many stories of dogs that were/are allowed to act aggressively in the dog park - to the point where some owners have stopped coming to avoid this.  As one of the individuals who worked very hard on bringing the dog park to our community, this is a bit of a bummer, to say the least.

Bottom line - your dogs should NEVER act in an overly aggressive way in the dog park.  If they are, please correct them and leave the dog park, if necessary, do not just say, "dogs will be dogs."  Although most aggression "flare-ups" can be controlled (and the dog we interacted with this morning did not show any aggression again after the incident), the Bloomingdale LeDroit Dog Park Association, with support from the DC Department of Parks and Recreation, reserves the right to ban dogs from the dog park that show consistent aggression toward other dogs.  We hope to never have to do this, of course.

In addition, many parks around the country DO NOT allow any toys, sticks or balls within the dog park - to reduce aggressive behavior.  We don't want to have to do that either.

So please be alert, monitor your dog, correct aggressive behavior, leave the park if you have to . . . so that all our community canines can enjoy a little off-leash fun.

- Maria, President, BLDPA

Welcome to our new website!

Plus je vois l'homme,
plus j'aimie mon chien

--- Pascal ---