Steve Dale: nationally renowned pet activist.

Ever since Steve Dale tuned his literary focus onto pets full time in 1995, he has entered the spotlight as one of the nation's leading "pet experts." In addition to a nationally syndicated pet help column, "My Pet World," which is published by the Tribune Media Services, and a weekly radio program, "Pet Central," on WGN Radio, Dale reaches millions of people about the subject of animals. He has also appeared on television shows such as "The Oprah Winfrey Show," as well as television networks such as National Geographic Explorer channel, Public Broadcasting Station and Animal Planet.

He received the American Veterinary Medical Association Humane Award, which is the highest honor bestowed on a non-veterinarian, as well as the 2001-2002 American Kennel Club Distinguished Service Award presented by the Dog Writer's Association. He has authored several books, including DogGone Chicago: Sniffing Out The Best Places For Your Best Friend. Dale also helped write animal control act legislation for the city of Chicago, and he helped fight for the creation of "dog-friendly parks" in the Chicago area.

Parks & Recreation: What was the impetus for fighting for dog rights in Chicago?

Dale: [In the mid to late 1900s,] whenever we opened up our [phone] lines and we would have these two words tangentially together--dog park--we would get a ton of calls from people who were caught by the Chicago police in the most egregious act of unleashing their dogs. I personally witnessed a little old woman ... who had a dog who might have been older than her, and the dog was not on a leash. The police gave her a ticket. I started thinking that if there was an appropriate place for dogs to go off-leash, that would give people less of a reason for having their clogs go off-leash in public parks.

Parks & Recreation: What place do dog parks have in the community?

Dale: By having dog-friendly parks, you're encouraging safety and socialization, and I'm not talking about the dogs. I'm talking about the people. As far as society, I see police officers hanging out at these dog parks, and they are the additional eyes and ears for the community. [Having police officers nearby] has not only helped--to a great degree--to lessen the animosity between the police and the community, but it has acted as a building block because now citizens are acting out to help police arrest criminal activity. Police cannot possibly be everywhere, and it has turned out to be a surprisingly helpful thing for the police. As far as socialization, you tend to see the same people at these parks. People have hooked up to the extent they're getting married.

Parks & Recreation:

Everyone knows the benefits of having a dog park in the area, but who should pay for this amenity? Who should be responsible for the maintenance and liabilities associated with dog parks?

Dale: A dog park cannot happen without the support of the community. People need to pick up after their dogs. To maintain the park, community groups should come in and, if there's planting to be done for additional nuances, the community should come in and do this sort of thing. That way, they get a sense of ownership. Dog parks are in general cleaner and more well-maintained than parks. It's your community park and you should take care of it. Now that said, I pay taxes and I feel that it's wrong when a community mandates an interest fee or fundraiser to raise money, because they don't do that for playgrounds. It should come out of the tax base. I think it's wrong for park districts to charge.

Parks & Recreation: What about licensing fees to enable park districts to monitor the dog population?

Dale: It seems to be a source of revenue. I wouldn't have a problem if it was guaranteed that it would go back into the dog parks, not the sewer system. The park district gets our tax money to do what is best for our citizenry.