#Attack of the #Goatheads: #Dogs do not wear #shoes

Booties needed in ElDorado dog park

The goatheads got through the booties at the park

     A lovely woman with a beautiful Labrador puppy is at the El Dorado dog park nearly every day, pulling up Goatheads, which have spines that can easily flatten a bike tire and painfully hang on to a dog's paws.   The first time I met her she said she was pulling up Goatheads because she liked to weed.
     The next time she had a petition to sign demanding that the El Dorado board allocate money for Goathead removal: a mere $320.   I signed immediately.
     She said that one board member didn't like dogs or dog owners: that person does not sound like an American.
     Her petition stated in bright red letters: DOGS DON'T WEAR SHOES.   It also noted that the horse stables get $5,362 and the pool gets $32,100, but the dog park gets nothing.  The petition stated that "One dog owner, who has had back surgery and a heart attack within the last year wanted to try and pull weeds because he loves his dog.  I think that it is unfair to ask Eldorado residents to take total responsibility for getting rid of a sharp, painful hazard in the Dog Park."
     What do you think?  Should a community in Santa Fe, NM, pay for Goathead removal?  Do you have Goathead/dog stories?  Please share and help.
     “Politics are not my concern.... They impressed me as a dog's life without a dog's decencies.”   Rudyard Kipling