Unleashed: the Dogs

Other Websites

Rock Creek Park

Let Fido tell you all about why it's important to keep your dog on a leash when in a park!

Credits

Created by Abby Cox, Explore Natural Communities Intern Summer 2015, NatureServe.

Sounds from soundbible.com: Puppy Dog Barking; Best Cardinal Bird Lazy, recorded by PsychoBird; Small Chain, recorded by Mike Koenig; Walking on Gravel, recorded by Caroline Ford // Music: Daily Beetle, by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: Attribution 3.0

Photo: Pawprints, by Erin Ziegler, Explore Natural Communities Intern Summer 2015, NatureServe. Shared under Creative Commons: Attribution 3.0

Transcript

Podcast time: 1:58 minutes

Fido:      Hi there! Dogs like me love going for walks. We especially love all the smells and adventures in Rock Creek Park. My owner takes me on hikes here and I get so excited! Since we aren't near the roads or in the city, she even lets me off the leash!

I run around and see tons of birds, smell all the wildflowers growing, and eat grass. Sometimes I even roll in the leaves and play fetch.

One day, a park ranger saw me and my owner and came over to talk to us. He scratched my ears and said,

Ranger: Hey Fido, I know you love the park and your owner loves to hike but we have a problem. When you are off the leash and you run around, you scare our birds and other animals like squirrels and deer. They think you are here to hurt them.

Fido:      What?? But I'm a nice dog and I just want to play with them.

Ranger: I know that Fido, but the birds aren't used to seeing you and it scares them. And when you run off the trails and roll around in the leaves you crush nests and other homes that the animals here have made for themselves. It’s especially terrifying when you chase other animals!

Fido:      Oh no! But I just want to PLAY! I love my home and I would never want to mess up someone else's.

Ranger: One more thing, big guy. When you are out there, you spread seeds of plants that get on your fur. You roll around and drop the seeds, and we don’t want hitchhiker plants to be growing in our park. Some are called invasive non-native species and they cause problems for the native plants that call Rock Creek Park home.

Fido:      Oh man! I love Rock Creek Park and I want it to stay awesome forever! What can I do Mr. Ranger?

Ranger: All you have to do is stay on your leash, make sure you and your owner stay on the trails, and that she cleans up after you. That’s all we ask and we love to have you here!

Fido:      We can do that! Thanks for talking to me! Now I know what I can do to help and I will tell all my other friends too!

Voice 1: (click of leash) Let's go, Fido!

Fido:      (bark bark!)

back to top