Never mind ; it’s like talking to the wind …

Well, it’s been 8 months since Gene was banned from being on the CSS LZ , in part due to claims of his dogs roaming freely and crapping on the LZ and bothering pilots and spectators. Neither Max nor Sonny are anywhere near AJX now, yet large dogs are walking unleashed, and yesterday I barely missed some dogsh*t while packing my wing. Can we either enforce the rules for everyone, or drop the stupidly pointless and hypocritical ban ?

If you see a particular dog defecating in the LZ and the pet’s owner doesn’t pick up after their dog, please e-mail one or more of the board members to let them know what you saw and when you saw it. We will then take the time to speak to that person about the issue and urge them not to let it happen again.

If the owner is found to ignore our warnings, they will also be asked not to bring their dog back. If they bring the same dog back after multiple warnings, they will also be banned from entering the LZ. Thus far we have not received any official, multiple complaints about anyone specifically, other than Gene. In Gene’s case, it wasn’t just about the dogs, it was also about the horses roaming free, posing a risk to pilots landing, and multiple nice and friendly warnings gone completely disregarded.

Also keep in mind that we have stray dogs (dropped off in the hills by irresponsible owners) and coyotes coming around, hunting gophers. They defecate on the grass as well, so if you didn’t actually see a dog defecting, there is a small possibility that it may not have been a pet at all.

In Gene’s case, multiple people on multiple occasions contacted the board privately to complain about specifically his dogs urinating on their gliders and equipment. In one case, one of his dogs urinated on the reclining chair while I was sitting in it. If I hadn’t said anything to Gene, he would have never noticed and never taken the time to clean the chair. If the dog had been supervised, or on a leash, that could have been avoided. This happened just before the ban, and perhaps during the “warning” period.

I don’t know about now, but in the past Max never even had a collar where a leash could be attached. He had to be dragged away by the skin on his neck, so that he could be returned to Gene. He’s a huge dog and if he doesn’t want to cooperate, there’s not much you can do about it without a collar and leash.

When Gene was asked to control his dog, his rebuttal was that the dog couldn’t read the rules. This is true, but you are the owner of that dog and therefore responsible to either train, or restrain him from doing what he shouldn’t be doing. A collar and leash are basic tools to accomplish exactly that.

A sign would be nice like we had in the past so people who don’t bring their dogs don’t have to police those who do.

There is already a sign at the LZ stating that dogs must be supervised & picked up after by owner. Next time you’re at the LZ, look at the two framed posters on the wall and read rule #8.

If only people took the time to read signs and follow rules. Maybe then people would actually pay for a membership, wear their helmets when kiting/flying, land at the appropriate time, adhere to the appropriate landing pattern, and stop smoking whatever they’re smoking at the LZ.

How about a sign elaborating more on what is expected when you bring your pet and has been in our site guidelines for years? We shouldn’t bend the rules for the very few that do bring pets.

Pets must be on leash and supervised at all times. Pet owners will be responsible for any damage the pet may cause.

Pets are permitted only in the parking lot or on the patio. Pets are not permitted in the landing zone.

Thank you, Jana. You have pointed out exactly why we need the sign I suggested.

It’s not up to the pilots who pay a yearly or weekly fee/dues to fly at the site, to police other pilots’ dogs, or their actions. It’s up to the Dumb Shits that let their dogs run free, and could care less about your equipment, or you, for that matter.

This has been a problem for too many years.

BAN ALL DOGS FROM THE LZ AND THE PROBLEM WILL BE SOLVED!

Other than that, live with what you let happen every day.

Fly Safe!

Just a reminder to dog owners…. as i watched a cool looking ( i think Alaskan husky, maybe part wolf) walking the LZ hunting around gophers holes and sniffing around if the pet owner knows that the dog could end up with a gopher full of the poisons that have been dropped down the gopher holes for the last 3 months.