BY NICK TERREL

Your dog has not experienced a party until they have been to an off-leash dog park with hundreds of other dogs. I myself am a proud owner of a 15-month-old Malamute, Maia.

Being from Seattle, we go back to my parents for holidays and weekend visits. When we do, we hit the Magnuson off-leash dog park at least once a day.

Since opening in 1999, it has become Seattle’s largest fully fenced off-leash dog park. It consists of a total of nine acres that leads down to the shores of Lake Washington. This is actually where my dog learned to swim, by watching other dogs swim to fetch balls from the water.

Since I have a large-breed dog that requires a minimum of a three-mile walk a day, taking her to the dog park to play is an awesome way to wear out my ball of energy.

Off-leash dog parks are also a great way to see how certain breeds act. It’s also a good way to determine what kind of dog fits your lifestyle before letting a four-legged friend into your life for the next decade or more.

I have taken my dog to off-leash parks ever since she was a couple months old, and I have never had a problem with her or another dog getting into a fight, nor have I ever witnessed one.

When I’m about a mile away from the park, Maia begins barking and jumping around in the car, knowing where we are going. It really is one of the best feelings, knowing that I am going to be looked at like a god for the rest of the day.

Getting my dog out to a park to play with other dogs is worth the wet and stinky smell that stays in the car for days. Also, going to the dog park exhausts her, so she falls right asleep when we get home.

No matter what time of day it is, the park is always filled with a variety of different breeds of all different sizes.

I understand that there have been incidents of people throwing meat filled with poison in off-leash parks, trying to make dogs ill. To tell you the truth, that has never crossed my mind.

Off-leash dog parks aren’t places that you drop your dog off and leave for a few hours. I always have my eyes on my dog so I don’t see how she could get sick.

Even without an off-leash dog park, living in Ellensburg and getting outside time with my dog isn’t an issue.

I go to Rotary park almost every other day to let her run off in the big fields, but since the park has a law to always have a leash on your dog, it is hard to get other people to let their dogs run free and play.

I think it would be a major benefit for dog owners in our community if there was a designated off-leash dog park in Ellensburg for many reasons.

One reason would be that I wouldn’t have to worry about my dog going after any squirrels, birds or deer if she is in a fenced area.

Another would be that I wouldn’t have to risk getting in trouble with the law for not having my dog on a leash.

There are times that I don’t want to walk around the neighborhood or hike up the ridge when there are cold temperatures and high winds in the ‘Burg. Maybe I just want to bundle up with a cup of coffee and talk to other dog owners while our dogs run, jump, dig and slobber on each other.

Lastly, it is a great place to meet girls. So I say, who let the dogs out?