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I read with interest “Ol’ Yeller” (1/27) and the subsequent letters to the editor (“Holler Back,” 2/3). This story probably resonates all across the city; it certainly does in my neighborhood. Dogs have taken over the triangle park bounded by New Hampshire Avenue and 17th and S Streets NW. The park is a very popular place for all sizes of dogs and their owners. During the evening hours, there are dozens of dogs running free, frolicking, and barking while their owners are socializing. For the most part, the owners are considerate—they clean up after their dogs, and their presence is preferable to the drug dealers of years past. But after rush hour is over and car traffic has diminished, the “second shift” of dogs comes into the park, and that’s when the barking becomes a real annoyance. The barks puncture the calm and reverberate off the buildings facing the park, but the owners seem oblivious to the disruption. Occasionally the police will stop by, and from inside their squad cars they’ll use their PA system to command the owners to leash their dogs. As soon as the police leave, the barking resumes.
The Kingsman Field neighborhood is lucky to have Gail Kelley to maintain the peace.
Dupont Circle