Quail Creek Dog Park — Attraction in Sahuarita

My dog Lucy, a 42 lb poodle, and I have been enjoying this park for the last two years. Initially, we would go to the Large Dog side but after she was knocked down several times by dogs over 50 up to 80 lbs, or snarled at by aggressive dogs, one of which was pit bull, I started taking her to Small Dog side. (Weight limit for Small Dog is only 30 lbs.) A Rottweiler had its mouth on my dog’s throat on the Large side. Other Large dogs try to mount her. My dog is playful, nonaggressive, and very friendly. Sat., June 22, Animal Control Officer Holgate (sp?) approached me and asked me and Lucy to leave Small side. He said not only Lucy, but quite a few “large” dogs are in Small and they have received calls. I know of several larger dogs and they are all mellow and chill. I realize the law is the final word but to categorize Big Dog/Small Dog (30) lbs is restrictive, as temperament is every bit as important. Last year a chihuahua bit another “small” dog. Last year a grey hound was killed by a Rottweiler on the Large side. Additionally, the Large dog side is now all hot and dusty gravel as the Town Sahuarita removed all grass due to MONEY. Gravel is cheaper. My suggestion is as follows: PLANT a tough grass cover on the Large side, Bermuda in spring, annual rye in fall. INCREASE the small dog side to 45 lbs with the clarification “NON-AGGRESSIVE” dogs only. FENCE off a third, smaller section of the park for dogs under 15 lbs for they are INDEED SMALL. The Town of Sahuarita is not thinking this through and slapping a “two size fits all” approach on an area which gives so much enjoyment for our dogs is shortsighted. Our dogs NEED a place to play and run for their well-being. In a desert devoid of safe places and devoid of grasses meadows, this is a very important community issue. There are some very workable solutions for any size pup, not just “small” and “big”. I will be sending a letter to Town of Sahuarita depending on the number of “Likes” my comments garner here. And I may begin a Petition for submission to the Town Council in the near...

Nice, clean park with plenty of benches and trees. There’s also a great water station for the pups. Well worth the 20min drive from Tubac. I knocked off a star because, although all of the dogs were sweet and friendly, and the majority of the owners were friendly, there was one owner that manhandled my puppy and yanked on his collar so hard that it came off. The owner was upset because my puppy “stole his ball.” He didn’t even call it his dog’s ball, he called it “HIS ball,” lol! Pretty sure all balls are fair game at a dog park. Obviously I wasn’t going to leave the park without returning the ball to the gentleman. All the dogs were having a blast and taking turns playing with that specific ball. But half the time the man yelled “he’s got my ball again,” my puppy didn’t even have a ball in his mouth. The owner also got very close to my face and yelled, “you should really bring a ball for your dog!” I explained to the gentleman that I did bring a ball for my puppy, and I was just letting another dog have a turn with it. He was either completely delusional or didn’t understand how dog parks work. He was more possessive over a ball than any toy-possessive dog I’ve seen. I found it comical. Not letting one clueless owner ruin my dog park experience. It’s a great park, and my puppy had...

Rude people, very unfriendly, they try to scare new people into leaving because they tell them they need a $160 dog license to take their dog here. Another bullying tactic is they see you carry your small dog from your car to the gate of the dog park and the common everyday person tries to become an enforcement officer by telling you that your little 5 lb dog must be on a leash when you take them from your car to the gate. And finally, if you still don't leave out of fear, they will tell you that you must be a resident of Quail Creek in order to enter the dog park, if that were true the dog park would be behind the ominous front gates of Quail Creek. People who live in Green Valley and pay gvrr thousands of dollars to join and hundreds per year have no dog parks to call their own, but they do have dozens of empty lighted...