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Tiffany Mack and her dog Charlie: A big part of her life for almost eight years.

(Submitted photo | Tiffany Mack)

Tiffany Mack doesn't want Wegmans Good Dog Park shut down. She makes that clear.

She just hopes people might remember Charlie -- and then use their heads.

Charlie was a character, one of her three dogs. Born not quite eight years ago, he was part Yorkshire terrier, part Chihuahua. Eight days ago, as Charlie did each morning, the little dog woke up early and made a point of getting the household moving. It was a quiet Saturday in March; Mack's 25th birthday was the next day.

She and her fiance, Andy Nolan, are educators in the Syracuse city schools. Nolan, who helps coach baseball at Corcoran High School, left for an early practice. Mack dropped into the routine she and Nolan typically follow together:

With the dogs in the car, she drove from her Syracuse home to Good Dog Park, in the Cold Springs section of Onondaga Lake Park. Licensed and supervised dogs are allowed to run free, in an enclosure.

Nolan and Mack have used it for years. Only once, before last week, did they encounter an aggressive dog. For the most part, it's been a chance for their dogs to run themselves into exhaustion, a chance to be with other people who love dogs.

Mack arrived around 11 a.m. Two men were there with their dogs. She walked through a gate, where a big sign offers a clear choice: "Any size dogs" can go to the play area to the left, while "Small dogs only," 25 pounds or less, can go right.

Faced with that choice, Mack went right. She let her dogs off the leash: There was Charlie, and a King Charles Spaniel named Cody, and Molly, a mix of many things, including whippet and beagle. "Molly was running with the other dogs," Mack said. "Cody was asking the other (dog owners) to meet him, and Charlie was sniffing around."

While the animals played, a third man arrived. He had a dog that towered above the others; Mack guesses it was a mix of mastiff and Labrador retriever. At the place where visitors make the choice -- large dogs to the left, small ones to the right -- the man went right.

Within minutes, his dog moved in a threatening manner toward Cody. The little spaniel fled and cowered between Mack's legs. She bent down to reach for him.

In that instant, the larger dog attacked Charlie, who had no chance. It grabbed him in its mouth, Mack said, and started shaking him and "tearing him apart."

Her voice trembled as she recalled the sound. The dog was in a kind of frenzy. "The guy immediately jumped on the back of the dog and wrestled him to the ground," she said.

Finally, the animal released Charlie.

She grabbed her bleeding dog and ran through the snow, toward the car. Mack heard the other men screaming at the newcomer while Cody and Molly ran by her side. In the car, blood everywhere, she called Nolan. Then she drove to a veterinarian in Liverpool, who sent her to an emergency clinic in Baldwinsville.

The staff did what it could, but the animal was dying. His lung had been punctured. He couldn't breathe.

Mack told Charlie goodbye. To end his suffering, she had him euthanized.

The man who owned the large dog contacted the couple. Nolan described him as "remorseful." The man, identified in police reports as Jeff Baird, of Pennsylvania, said he was visiting the area. He paid the vet's bill. He said his dog had never been aggressive.

The sign that greets all visitors at Good Dog Park, in the Cold Springs section of Onondaga Lake Park.

Matt Millea, a deputy Onondaga County executive, said park rangers ticketed Baird for failing to obey signs in the park, and for failing to license his dog.

At one of the clinics, Nolan said, a technician told him they've treated other animals injured in the dog park. Once Nolan got home, he went to the Internet and was startled to see the number of similar attacks in dog parks across the nation. He learned of a fierce debate about the wisdom of assembling large groups of unleashed dogs.

Danielle Basciano, a certified professional dog trainer in Onondaga County, said the issue -- as always -- is owner awareness and vigilance.

"Can dog parks be good? Absolutely," she said. "But the more dogs you have, the higher the level of arousal."

The key for owners, she said, is knowing when your dog is sending warning signs -- and responding quickly. She said it always worries her when she goes past a dog park and sees groups of people with their backs turned, chatting, while the animals play ...

Because the unexpected can happen, and fast.

Dr. Marcia Ziegler-Alexander, co-owner of Stack Hospital for Pets in Fayetteville, said she's treated a handful of animals bitten at dog parks. Like Basciano, she emphasized the volatile potential of any mixture of strange dogs. She's seen dogs that are traditionally placid set off by unseen triggers.

In that sense, there's never a casual trip to a dog park.



Millea, the county administrator, said county Executive Joanie Mahoney "views the dog parks as tremendous assets." In the 13-year-history of Good Dog Park, he said there's only been one other recorded instance of a dog being seriously injured.

Still, Millea said, the county is reviewing its policies and the way it monitors the area, and it will re-emphasize the rules governing all users:

If you've got a large dog, go to the correct area. And if you've got any concern

whatsoever about your dog's behavior, it's best to stay home.

As for Tiffany Mack, it will take a while to get past the horror of that morning. She misses Charlie, and she doubts she'll return to the dog park, a place she's always loved.

"I don't think it should be closed," she said. "I've seen it do such great things for dogs."

Dogs, as she knows all too well, aren't the real problem.



Questions for readers: What's been your experience with Good Dog Park, or any public dog park? Do you have ideas or suggestions for providing a better or safer experience? If so, you can leave your response here as a comment, or email columnist Sean Kirst at skirst@syracuse.com.