It’s a Dog Day Afternoon at Golden Gardens

A typical sunny afternoon at Golden Gardens.

Seattleites are an upstanding, law-abiding bunch. We recycle, compost and obey traffic signs. We help old ladies cross the street and give tourists directions to the fish market. However, when it comes to Man’s Best Friend, some of us tend to conveniently ignore a few of the more pertinent laws.

Last month, the Surfrider Foundation issued a warning at Seattle’s Golden Gardens Park citing levels of high bacteria in the creek that runs through the beach park. The Seattle Times spoke with Jonathan Frodge, a stormwater specialist for Seattle Public Utilities on the cause of the high bacteria levels:

“The cause could be as serious as a sanitary spill, such as a broken bathroom pipe, or from a less-worrisome source such as nearby mulch or wood chips. It could also be from raccoons, waterfowl, pets or other animals. Frodge said there's a ‘high probability’ that the dog park up the hill from Golden Gardens contributes to the problem.”

There’s a dog park up the hill from Golden Gardens, but visit on any sunny weekend afternoon and you’re also likely to see a makeshift dog park on the beach itself. King County’s Water and Land Resources Division has the law clearly stated on their website: “Dogs should not be taken to public swimming beaches. There is a $500 fine for having dogs on public swimming beaches in Seattle.” But this doesn’t stop dozens of residents from bringing their dogs to the beach anyway; even going as far as to tie their pets to the very sign posted instructing them not to do so.

Compounding the problem is the lack of city resources available to enforce the law. The City-run Seattle Animal Shelter has jurisdiction, but animal control officer Brandi Homeier recently noted on West Seattle Blog that: “emergencies take priority - such as injured animals, or reports of dogs left in hot cars. And, she explained, there are relatively few officers available citywide - 7 days a week, somebody’s on duty, but there’s a lot of territory to cover.”

Last week, news surfaced that the Surfrider’s testing may have been flawed, after the City conducted their own tests and found the bacteria at acceptable levels. The Surfrider Foundation is sticking to their guns, however, noting that “even though test results indicate no systemic sewage problem at Golden Gardens stream urban creeks have bacteria from animal waste and other sources.” Long story short: keep your kids out of the creek and keep your dogs off the beach. It’s the law, and it’s yet another way to claim your upstanding citizen badge, right after you help that old lady cross the street.