Hi, there. My name is Anthony Morales (and this is my boxer Milo ฅ^•ﻌ•^ฅ). Milo and I recently moved to the neighborhood just a few months ago from Washington State. We have only been here a few months, but we've found Countryside to be a fantastic place to live. It's clean, it's quiet, and it's safe, and everyone I've met here has been friendly and welcoming. Milo feels the same way. We love our new neighborhood, and we want to do our part to help make it a better place for everyone.

There are a lot of pet owners in the neighborhood, but as Milo and myself quickly found out there are essentially no options for safe recreation where pets are concerned. There is an elementary school nearby with a large field, but pets are clearly not allowed inside. Some people have even received tickets for violating this rule. Unless you're willing to break the law the only other option for pet recreation is the wash that runs through the neighborhood, and it's easy to see why many people would consider that an unsafe situation. To make matters worse a large portion of the neighborhood does not even have sidewalks. The situation is unfortunate, but there isn't much that can be done to change any of these things. Or is there?

The Countryside Community Center has been kind enough to create and maintain facilities for use by its members, and many people use them on a regular basis. The fitness center and the swimming pool are both hugely popular with people in the community, and we are very lucky to have them. There is, however, a large segment of the neighborhood that is not being serviced by the community center and cannot take advantage of the facilities: pets. I was very surprised to find this to be the case when I first moved in. There is a large field in front of the administration building that appears to be very infrequently used and there is a very large field behind the swimming pool that (as far as I can discern) is never used for any purpose. Why not open a portion of either of these areas up to pet use? People have told me anecdotally that pets were once allowed on site, but nobody seems to know the reason why this policy was discontinued.

This would not be an expensive endeavor, and it would benefit the community greatly. If you've read this far we hope you agree with our sentiment at least a little. If you do, Milo and I hope you'll consider supporting this change by adding your signature here. Or, better yet, attending the Countryside Board Meeting on June 14th at 7PM to voice your support in person. A change like this won't happen overnight, and there are details that still need to be ironed out, but showing the Countryside Board members that this is a change the neighborhood wants is the first step to making it a reality.

Thank you for your time, and we hope to see you at the meeting!

Anthony Morales & Milo

anthmorales@gmail.com