Bailey is Missing
Please call 351-5917 or 273-7421
Two recent sightings Elm St and Poole Rd (11/24) and Route 13a and Coy Glenn Road (at Floral Ave) on Thanksgiving Afternoon[click for map].
You can help by distributing this flyer along CLIFF ST or COY GLEN RD.


Tompkins County Dog Owners Group (TCDOG)
Meetings Education Adopt a Pet First Aid Listserv Dog Park Resources
Donations Join TCDOG News Help Us Dog Park Pics City Rules HOME

Tompkins County Dog Owners Group is a not-for-profit membership organization dedicated to the expansion of recreational opportunities for dogs and their owners and to developing a dog-friendly environment in Ithaca New York and throughout Tompkins County.

TCDOG's Goals:

  1. To facilitate communication among dog owners, the public, and government about mutual concerns and issues regarding dogs.
  2. To increase positive interaction among people and dogs and to facilitate healthy dog socialization through the creation of off-leash dog parks.
  3. To promote responsible dog ownership, sanitation, and optimal dog health by encouraging: dog waste cleanup; dog obedience training; and dog vaccinations, altering, and exercise.
  4. To promote off-leash dog parks as alternatives to excessive use of sensitive natural areas.

Green Dog Comes to a


Howl-o-ween Costume Party in the Dog Park
 SATURDAY...NOV 1 from 2 - 4
(with Sunday Nov 2 as a possible raindate)

People planning to participate in the event should be there NO Later than 1:45
 to REGISTER and pick up their number.


Registration for dogs in the parade is at the FAR end of the park near the Marina. The other gates will be closed during the event (though you can still come and watch even if you don't want to dress up).

The entry fee for costumed dogs is $2 each and we are taking donations at the table from anyone.

This is a fundraiser for the new improved composting project. Donations in any amount are appreciated


PRIZES so far are:
-Grooming Certificate and Doggy Day care Coupon from "Those Dirty Dogs"
- 1 yr. ADVANTIX from BANFIELD Vet Hospital at Petsmart
-Gift certificate from AGWAY
-Gift certificate from Ithaca Grain
-Gift certificates for Massage therapy (for humans) from "The Articulate Body"
-Hangar Theater tickets

TREATS for everyone......

There will be a RAFFLE that ANYONE can enter for HANGAR THEATER tickets...it doesn't matter if you are there with or without a dog or in the costume competition or not. Anyone who makes at least a $2 donation to the "Composting bag fund" will get a chance for the drawing.

Hope to see many of you there.

The COMPOSTING project is expensive and TCDog  needs to raise money to pay for compostable bags at a  cost  of 6 cents each.....right now we use approximately 100 bags a DAY and you won't be able to use any other type of bag (since these must be special bags that TOTALLY decompose within 45-60 days)...

SORRY for any inconvenience but I hope LOTS of folks do come out even if they aren't into dressing up their dogs....we need the donations for this project and everyone will get TREATS and there is a DRAWING at the  END for anyone present (whether in costume or not)....So Please come and support the DOG PARK.

Once the event is officially over, the dog park will re-open for playtime as usual.

Come join us at TCDOG's Fall Membership Meeting!

Wednesday, October 8, 2008
From 6-8:00 PM

In the Borg Warner East Meeting Room
at the Tompkins County Library

All are welcome, although only current members can vote. Light refreshments will be served.

What's on the agenda?
*A current affairs briefing on the state of the off leash area at Treman State Marine Park
*The fall election for one year terms on the Excutive Council (three spots are open).

Join our Group

Dues are still only $5 per member per year.
Free Bumper Sticker with any donation of $10 or more

Celebrating the dog park at the Ithaca Festival Parade!

TCDOG is marching in the Ithaca Parade again this year on Thursday, June 19th.

Celebrate our hard-fought-for dog park and bring your (on-leash) dog(s) !

Two and four legged participants need to be in place on N. Cayuga Street between Jay and Lincoln streets by 5:45 pm.

We will be marching behind a home-made banner and we still have a few TCDOG t-shirts, for those of you who would like to sport the TCDOG colors.

If you haven't done this before, it is very gratifying to see just how many Ithacans are in favor of the off-leash area!

As of 2:30pm on Sunday (May 18th) when the rain was coming down steadily, there were still a handful of committed volunteers working on tightening the bottom fence wire so as to keep dogs from going under the fence as best we can with the temporary fencing. Several people worked on Sunday from 8:30am for the duration…after doing the same thing on Saturday. Others came out and helped for various parts of the day. Many thanks to all of you!

Thanks to Liz, we have some great pics of "The Big Fence Move Project." You can see them here at picassa

The new fencing is not perfect. There are still places which need to be pinned down at the bottom and the double gates are not complete. If you would still like to make a contribution to the effort here are a couple of ideas:

1. Buy one, two, or three dozen long (12”) spikes or tent pegs, bring them, along with a hammer, with you the next time you go to the park. Peg down a section of fencing at the bottom. (Some of the places needing pegs have been marked with plastic bags. Let’s try to get those spots done first.)

2. Donate a gate to provide a fourth access point or to help complete the double gates. We need a total of 5 more gates.

Despite the inclement weather there were people coming and enjoying the new area with their dogs today (Sunday). It is open and ready for use. The total space is virtually identical to the amount of space we had before…perhaps even slightly larger, but it is less long and narrow. We hope you’ll enjoy the rolling terrain and the shade trees. The ditch you’ll see coming into the area from the park maintenance building is where the water line will be run by State Parks employees.

Please consider how you can help to make new-comers feel welcome and to gently point out to them the requirements of park etiquette…particularly that dogs must be on-leash in the parking lot and that everyone should carry-out their dog waste.

Also, several people have commented that it is important to remember to try to clear the entrance/exit areas as soon as possible when entering and leaving the dog park so as to avoid “pile-ups” of dogs near the gates.

Volunteers moved a couple of picnic tables today to spread them out in the new area so as to provide some seating. If you and a couple of friends would like to move a couple more picnic tables to spots that are lacking them within the dog park, please feel free to do so. State Parks has given us the OK to do so. …ENJOY!

TCDOG has much to be proud of. After years of uphill struggle, a permanent OLA is now in the making.
To get where we are today, TCDOG has hosted close to 20 public events; scores of TCDOG members have attended Common Council meetings; TCDOG has become a not for profit corporation with the State of New York, a 501c3 whose educational mission passed muster with the IRS; TCDOG raised money for a pilot dog waste composting project; and TCDOG members drove the fence posts for the temporary park.
Support TCDOG today and ensure that a permament OLA becomes a part of life in Ithaca!

Individual membership: $5.
Family membership: $10.

Responding now will save the organization a lot of money in postage, so please renew now!


TCDog's Green Dog Fest
Friday, September 28th was a great event!

TCDOG sponsored GREEN DOG FEST in order to raise the funds necessary to pay for the Pilot Composting Project.
Thanks to ALL of You, we successfully raised the necessary funds. *


TCDOG gratefully acknowledges the support of GREEN DOG FEST sponsors and contributors.
If you weren't there, you can still see what you missed.
List of items Auctioned at the Green Dog Fest.


TCDOG goes "Green"

The City decided to reverse its Carry In / Carry Out policy and would return containers for the dog waste. These would be special containers ONLY for dog waste so that it could be composted.
The City agreed to do this at our request and at our expense.
 We needed to raise at least $3,000 to cover the expense of this Pilot project. We did. *

Celebrating the official opening

Here are some pics from the celebration marking the rescinding of the leash law at The Festival Lands on December 2.

By my best guess we had over 100 people and dogs!

DOGs Legally in the Ithaca Festival Lands!

Photos above are courtesy of Jon Reis.

Official Map of Festival Lands

"Official" Map of the Off Leash Area at the Festival Lands

Have a question, comment, or good idea? E-mail us at info@tcdog.org.