In order to take advantage of the more hospitable political environment for dog parks as a result of the recent elections and our group's gathering momentum, LI-DOG has adopted a mission and plan of action for the next year. LI-DOG believes such a plan is critical to achieving our key goals.

Our Mission:
    To make dog parks part of the fabric of life on Long Island, to increase access to LI parkland for dog owners and their dogs, and to promote responsible pet ownership

Our goals:

• To favorably resolve the situation at Coindre Hall for dog owners
• To create a large, new dog park at West Hills
• To build a big, beautiful dog park at Blydenburgh
• To create new dog parks on Long Island
• To raise public awareness of the benefits of dog parks
• To become a professional organization with structure, leadership and fund raising capabilities.

Our strategy for achieving most of these goals is simple:

• Organize dog owners
• Get political/legislative support
• Get Parks Dept. approval

Action items we need to take care of quickly include:

• Coindre Hall
• Create a stewardship committee to organize dog owners to protect the off-leash area and help take care of the dog park
• Develop a proposal that preserves dog owners off-leash privileges while meeting the needs of other park users
• Gain approval for a solution from Citizens Advisory Committee members, our local legislator and parks dept officials
• West Hills
• Get 1000s of signatures on our petition asking for a larger dog park at West Hills
• Set up a stewardship committee with dog owners to lead the relocation effort and help take care of the new and existing dog runs
• Gain approval from our local legislator and the Parks Dept. for the relocation
• Blydenburgh
• Create a stewardship committee to rally dog owners to help lead the development effort and help take care of the dog park once it's built
• Set up meetings with our local legislator and the Parks Dept. to discuss potential sites and park features
• New Dog Parks
• Investigate the status of land being acquired by the county and local governments
• Meet with local legislators to discuss potential new sites
• Ramp up petition drives in areas of interest
• Raise Awareness of the Benefits of Dog Parks
• Ramp up petition drive
• Schedule events to educate other dog owners and the community about the benefits of dog parks
• Meet with legislators and other government officials
• Reach out to members of the media
• Participate in other dog-related events such as dog shows, agility trials, etc.
• Create a Professional Organization
• Complete IRS form for 501(c)(3) designation
• Hold general membership meeting to adopt bylaws and elect directors

    We cannot stress enough the importance of dog owners becoming involved with LI-DOG. We cannot save Coindre Hall as a premiere dog park, expand West Hills, create a big, new dog park at Blydenburgh, or make dog parks and other off-leash areas a part of everyday life on Long Island without thousands of dog owners volunteering their time and effort for our cause. Join us and let us know what you'd like to do, by e-mailing us at: lidog_news@yahoo.com.