As the President of ADOG, I am responding to Maxine Hutchison’s letter in the May 11 issue. The mayor and the town manager have asked ADOG to be the primary contact in the event that any problems occur at the dog park. I have offered my telephone number, 480-816-5711 for anyone who has any questions or problems that relate to Desert Vista dog park.

I have spoken directly with the lady that attempted to assist Maxine. Although small dogs are welcome in the big dog park, it appears that these dogs normally are visitors to the small dog side.

The lady I spoke with said that the owner of the other dog attempted numerous times to assist and even offered a ride to a vet. For some unknown reason, these offers were declined. The lady advised me that the male owner was an infrequent visitor who may in fact be a winter resident.

My understanding is that the injury required stitches and the vet bill was $300.

It is also my understanding that both of the dogs that Maxine was looking after returned days later to the small dog side.

We take any aggressive behavior seriously and would certainly be interested in the missing owner’s position. We have a great park populated for the most part with great dog owners.

There is, however, a responsibility of all owners to understand which park is appropriate and to be in control of your animal at all times because, just like humans, sometimes some dogs just don’t like each other.

We are proud to be able to use a facility that is considered to be one of the best in Arizona and it will only stay that way by having members that care. To learn more please visit ADOGFH.org.