We would like to thank Mark Mayer, Community Services Director, and Don Clark, Supervisor of Parks, for meeting with us to discuss ridding the Dog Park of the rampant “burr” weed.

This weed makes any visit, during its two seasons (totaling about six months/year), a frustrating experience for long-haired dogs. The burrs attach to the dogs and make it a chore to remove them (up to two hours each visit for some dogs) with removal being very uncomfortable for them. Health problems have also occurred for dogs that gnaw at the burrs and subsequently swallow them.

The burrs are not present at any of the other parks in Fountain Hills (verified by dog walks). Many owners will not use the Dog Park because of this problem. We were concerned Mark and Don didn’t realize the extent of the problem so we brought pictures to illustrate our concerns.

Both listened and committed to the following actions: 1) Within a week, the Dog Park will be “vacuumed” to remove loose burrs. 2) Herbicides will be used both pre- and post-seasonally (the herbicide used by the town is not toxic to dogs, as long as it has dried). 3) The parks staffer responsible for both Four Peaks Park and Desert Vista Park will be asked to spend more time at Desert Vista, which includes the Dog Park, working to remove the weed.

Budget cutbacks have had an impact and we understood there would be no overseeding for the Dog Park (Fountain Park is the only park being overseeded).

However, we would like the Dog Park to have the same care as the other grassy park areas in town. We appreciated Mark and Don working with us to develop a plan, within the current park budget, to try and eradicate this weed.