Park Officials Urge Pet Owners To Be Careful During Spring Runoff

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – As spring runoff leads to rushing streams and creeks, Salt Lake City Parks and Public Lands officials want pet owners to be careful.

“This year, we had an incredible snowpack, and we’ve had some cooler than normal weather in May,” said Trails and Natural Lands Director Lewis Kogan. “There’s still a lot of snow up high, and now that it’s warming up, it’s starting to come off fast.”

Heather Bowler said she was at Parley’s Historic Nature Park on Monday when she noticed two Labrador retrievers that appeared to be having trouble swimming in Parley’s Creek. She decided to tether herself to a nearby boulder with a chain of leashes and pull the dogs out.m

“(I) made sure the leash was secure around my wrist. I jumped in,” she said. “One of the dogs was closer to me, so I grabbed the dog and pulled it up onto the bank.”

Kogan said the streams and creeks that run through city parks can change drastically during the spring runoff without much warning.

“That water can fluctuate from day to day, even from hour to hour,” he said. “Something that a dog jumped into on Tuesday and had no problem could be a different stream on Wednesday,”

He recommends people use good judgement and common sense around the water during the runoff. In fact, he suggests people keep their dogs out of the water until the runoff ends.

“You can read that sign, but your dog can’t read that sign,” Kogan said. “I think it’s the dog owner’s responsibility to look after their dog and make sure their dog is safe.”