Ellison Prk, Monroe County, Roch, continued ... by: Anonymous
You should also be prepared to handle a dog-fight situation. It's rare - but every now and then it happens. My brother & his friends pitched in $200 for another dog owner's vet bill. There were a bunch of dogs in a skirmish and no way to tell whose dog gashed 'the victim' - but to prevent the owner from getting the police involved (and possibly ruining the whole Summmer for ALL THE DOGS and ALL THE OWNERS - they coughed up some cash.)
If your dog is in a dog fight you need to stay calm - don't scream - and don't throw your body in to the melee if you're not prepared to suffer the consequences (which could be dire - THINK about it.) But you do need to be prepared to grab your dog at the first available opportunity and prevent them from re-engaging the brawl. You then need to be honest with yourself - and assess your dog's involvement in the fight - and if it happens more than once, you need to realize there may be a pattern, and you need to act responsibly thereafter (ie - don't bring the dog to the park, keep it on a leash and/or stay away from particular canines you know your dog does not play nicely with.)
Mostquitos are an issue before sunset. Make sure your dog is vaccinated. Don't bring your dog if it's sick or recovering from an injury. The rest rooms the original poster mentioned are definitely not open in the Winter .. which reminds me - you need to be wary of frisbee (disc) golfers in the Summer and sledders in the Winter - if your dog is apt to chase sleds and/or try to catch disks - you need to on-guard all the time.
Apr 13, 2008
Ellison Park, Monroe County, Rochester, NY area - review ... by: Anonymous
The original poster's perception is a little different than mine. The address of the Ellison Park might be 900 Browncroft or something else - but I think most people think of it as the intersection of Blossom & North Landing Road.
There was a push to designate areas of four parks in Monroe County as "dog park" areas - but only a fraction of the funding was raised - so there is no offically recognized dog-park. Still - this is a terrific place to bring your dog. I don't know where this sectioned off area for small dogs is - I've been going there for 7 or 8 years now and pretty much canine of all sizes and breeds go anywhere they please. There is an elbow in the creek - perhaps the original poster believes smaller dogs stay on the inside of the elbow - but that's simply not the case.
Today the water in the creek was very high - which is normal in the Spring. By late August it can be very low - dogs can walk across without leaving their feet sometimes. There is no pond - though in the Spring, there are often parts of the park that are flooded - I suppose it could look like a pond. And there are some "marshy" areas - but they definitely aren't "ponds" and you do Not want your dogs, regardless of breed, venturing in to those areas.
There are four oil drums with heavy covers to drop your plastic bags with doggie poop in them ... actually one of them seems to be missing this year, which is disappointing. Each drum had a tube above it where people could stuff extra plastic bags for peope who forget their own. [YES - WE ARE EXPECTED TO CLEAN UP AFTER OUR DOGS - it's the best kind of peer pressure I know.] If you fail to do so - you will get a cold-shoulder from anyone who notices.
Also, it's technically illegal to have your dog 'off leash' at Ellison Park. In the Summer time the Monroe County Sherrif has been known to walk, ride a mountain bike or drive their police car down to the dog area and hand out tickets - I don't know how much, I've heard people claim the fine is as high as $80.
My guess is they only come down after a bicyclist, jogger, canoer or horseback rider has complained they were accosted by a dog(s).
If you see a horse coming - get control of your dog immediately - the man who leads horse walks through the park is not friendly, he will taunt your dog if it comes near the horses.
