Basically the only fully fenced off dog park on San Francisco's west side, the Golden Gate Park dog run just off 38th Avenue and Fulton Street is well-used by both professional dog walkers (who can let their massive barking flock run free without worry of escape) and private citizens who care for dogs that pose a flight risk. It's also known for its overpowering pee scent, which makes a (unavoidable and well-advised) move to down an area tree a little bit gross to anyone opposed to a giant cloud of dirt covered in the dried urine of countless canines.
As an occasional user of that park (I've always had short dogs I could overtake pretty well, but my newest is an easily-startled Italian greyhound who's been clocked at around 17 miles per hour), I'm pleased to see the city taking a proactive stance on what was presumably a dead tree. Though it was in 2008, local dog guardians still shudder at the memory of Kate Bolton, slain by a falling tree limb as she loaded her dogs into her car at the Pine Lake dog park.
So I'm certainly not throwing any ailing-tree shade at the maintenance workers keeping dogs and humans safe from harm by pulling this tree down, as the Richmond District blog reports was done Monday. But, oh my god, what did that cloud smell like? As noted by Yelp users the park, which is basically just a huge patch of dirt, "has an extremely strong pee smell all around the place," is known for "the stink," and "is just pretty gross. Reminds me of a huge kitty litter box." Here's hoping the park worker we see in the video was wearing a mask, because, hack cough cough yuck.
Related: Etiquette Week: How To Walk A Dog