Dogs vs. kids at Wood park in Oakland Families say rowdy canines have pushed them out of their local park

Benji eyes his ball at William D. Wood Park, which does not allow dogs, in the Dimond neighborhood of Oakland. Benji eyes his ball at William D. Wood Park, which does not allow dogs, in the Dimond neighborhood of Oakland. Photo: Michael Short, Special To The Chronicle Photo: Michael Short, Special To The Chronicle Image 1 of / 19 Caption Close Dogs vs. kids at Wood park in Oakland 1 / 19 Back to Gallery

There's a canine kerfuffle simmering in a quiet Oakland park.

Moms and dads won't take their kids to play in the city's William D. Wood Park in the city's Dimond neighborhood because, they say, dog owners have let their pooches run so wild that they bowl over children and threaten day care groups.

The 5-acre park is supposed to be off-limits to dogs, but no one really enforces the law and dog owners think the big lawn tucked between two hills far from traffic is perfect for a game of fetch.

For years, neighbors accepted a détente: Dogs could play in the park as long as they shared the space with families. But now some neighbors have asked the city to issue tickets to scofflaw dog owners. A community meeting is planned for Wednesday.

"It is not a dog park, so there shouldn't be dogs there ever at all," said Rick O'Herron, 48, who glared from his front porch on a recent weekday as someone threw a tennis ball to two dogs in the park.

O'Herron, who does high-tech marketing, said he rarely lets his two sons, ages 10 and 12, go to the park unsupervised anymore.

Councilman Noel Gallo, who represents the area, said police are too busy with more serious crimes to issue tickets for having a dog off leash. It will be up to the community, Gallo said, to sort the matter out.

"We as neighbors should be able to communicate with each other that when children are playing that dogs need to be on a leash," he said.

But tensions are running high.

In January, O'Herron watched with horror from his driveway as a group of dogs swarmed over a man. "These dogs were all fighting with each other, but he was on the ground in the middle of them," O'Herron said. "I could hear the screams, 'Get them off me! Get them off me!' "

O'Herron said he ran inside and called 911. Police arrived 10 minutes later, O'Herron said. The man was apparently unhurt.

'Like a linebacker'

Luis Rivera, 49, was playing catch with his 10-year-old son in November when he was knocked down by an excited dog.

"We got to the park on Friday after school and there were four dogs, two of them were pit bulls and two of them were other large dogs," Rivera said. "So we stayed in one corner and we continued playing and at one point or another the ball missed the glove and dogs started chasing the ball."

The dogs weren't malicious, he said, just so excited by the ball that they wouldn't listen to their owners.

"The two dogs were just running all over the place" Rivera said. "The dog just came around and jumped on me. He was charging the ball and I just happened to have the ball. He took me down immediately. Just like a linebacker."

The dog owner came right over and apologized, Rivera said. But Rivera partially tore his knee ligament and his confidence was shaken.

Dog owner empathizes

Sam Lowther, 46, a professional dog walker and artist who has lived in Oakland for 20 years, said she empathizes with the frustrated neighbors. But Lowther, who regularly lets her two cattle dogs, Bodie and Apollo, run free in Wood park, doesn't think it is fair for the dogs to be pushed out of Wood park. "It means being a responsible dog owner," she said as she leashed up Bodie so she didn't chase a passing cyclist. "The problem here in Oakland is that there are no fenced-in dog parks in the neighborhoods."

The city, which has five dog parks - none near the Dimond neighborhood - has been trying to build a dog park near Lake Merritt since 1998 and is currently considering changing strict dog rules so dogs on a leash are allowed in more city parks.

Both need to play

Dogs, just like kids, deserve to play in the grass, Lowther said.

"People are not compassionate for dogs. We are when it comes to children," Lowther said. "I am not a child owner. I am a dog owner and it isn't fair that it is all children, children, children."

Jil Weil used to take the children at her home day care to the park every day. But she hasn't done that for a year.

"I would say there are over 30 different dog owners using this park regularly. German shepherds, pit bulls, full-grown Dobermans," Weil said. "It is just getting out of hand. It is too many dogs, it is too often."