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A basset hound named Abigail sits patiently through Scotts Valley City Council meeting Wednesday night. Sentinel photo by Shmuel Thaler

They didn’t bark and they didn’t bite, but a half-dozen dogs that showed up in City Hall Wednesday night with their owners made a strong case for a canine park.

"My dog is part of my family," said Susan Taylor, who had her spaniel and Labrador mix on a leash. "He needs to go someplace where he can exercise and be with other dogs."

A basset hound, Australian shepherd, golden retriever and a standard poodle sat in the council chamber quietly for almost an hour as Councilman Cliff Barrett orchestrated what seemed like a dog-and-pony show, so to speak.

Barrett, who owns two dogs himself, has been pushing for the city to create a dog park since he was appointed to the council in April. Such facilities are quite popular over the hill, he said, showing a homemade video tour of dog parks in Sunnyvale, Redwood City, Belmont, Santa Clara County and San Francisco complete with benches, shade and, of course, pooper-scoopers.

"I walked around these parks, and there were no feces," Barrett said. "It’s nice to see."

He favors fencing the city-owned lot on Erba Lane and replacing the existing surface with grass or crushed granite, which is used over the hill. He said he didn’t expect a vote yet but wanted to show the council the canine constituency was worth considering.

Mayor Chuck Walker said he was convinced by nearly 400 signatures on Barrett’s dog-park petitions. But he wants questions about the start-up cost, maintenance and city recreation priorities to be answered first.

Councilwoman Sheryl Ainsworth, a dog owner, said she wanted to see recommendations from the city Parks Commission before taking action.

Not everyone is enthusiastic about a dog park.

"We each have our own pet peeve, but we have to look at priorities," Recreation Commissioner Wendy Brannan said.

Dog owner Janine Charlton said the city is short of ballfields because of endangered species.

"My priorities are children first, dogs second, bugs third and spineflowers, also known as buckwheat, last," she said.

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