I recently received a letter from the Durango Parks & Recreation Department detailing its desire to turn Jenkins Ranch Park (where my children play) and Fanto Park (where they attend school and practice soccer) into off-leash dog exercise areas.
I would like to bring up something important. My pet is a fish, and he lives in an aquarium in my home. His name is Mr. Bubbles. Now, my fish isn’t a “citizen” in the strictest sense; he doesn’t pay taxes, and he can’t vote. But, Mr. Bubbles is part of our family, and I think he deserves the same rights as the dogs in my neighborhood.
Therefore, I would like to request that Parks & Rec convert the swimming pool at the Community Recreation Center into an off-leash exercise area for my pet fish. Now, I understand that my fish might get a little aggressive at times, and perhaps he’ll bite other fish or even kids swimming in the pool. This is, in my opinion, a small price to pay for the hours of enjoyment we’ll receive. There will also be quite a bit of fish poop left in the pool, and I’ll try my darnedest to pick it up. But, I’m sure that whatever I don’t get to will be disposed of by my fellow pet-loving neighbors or the city staff.
After all, this community has bountiful resources. Certainly, a small portion of them should go toward making Mr. Bubbles happy. I understand there will be a meeting of the Parks & Recreation Advisory Board at 5 p.m. Wednesday at the rec center to address the off-leash dog issue. Hopefully, they’ll take up the cause of Mr. Bubbles’ glaring need for subsidized recreation and open space.
Jason Fisher
Durango
