The social life of these Saratoga dogs has been a bit curtailed since July, when the city of Saratoga decided to enforce an ordinance to cite dogs that were off-leash in city parks.

The Saratoga City Council, under pressure from local dog owners, is now considering designating a local park as an off-leash area for dogs for some hours every day.

At a city council meeting on Oct. 20, it was decided that the parks and recreation commission would actively investigate any such possibility at a local park in the next few months.

In recent weeks, the Friends of Saratoga Dogs submitted a petition signed by more than 330 people to the council. The organization was formed after the city began citing owners of off-leash dogs.

Earlier, the group had also made a presentation to the parks and recreation commission.

Cary Bloomquist, administrative analyst for the city's planning department, said that there might be two ways to solve the issues raised by the dog owners. One way was to contact dog parks in neighboring cities and get more information about opportunities and constraints. The other was to designate a local park as an off-leash dog park during certain hours of the day for a three-month trial period. "We might look at Azule Park, since many of the people who signed that petition live in that area," said Bloomquist.

Tom Barbaro, a Saratoga resident and one of the people largely instrumental in getting the group together, made a presentation to the city council.

"There are currently no facilities in Saratoga for off-leash exercise of dogs," said Barbaro. "Off-leash exercise results in dogs being calmer and better behaved."

The other advantages, as pointed out by Barbaro, were better social skills for the dogs. "It can mitigate aggressive behavior."

Dogs who do not get to run around or play become anti-social and cannot understand other dogs very well, according to Barbaro.

He also said that the city council should look at designated times at several city parks to reduce the pressure on one particular park.

A file full of letters of support was turned over to the council by the group, which received endorsements from the Peninsula Humane Society and SPCA, the Fort Funston Dog Walkers Association, Dogpac, Sfdog and Caldog.org, all animal friendly organizations that promote the well-being of dogs. The Humane Society of Silicon Valley also sent in a letter of support.

George Miller, another local resident, said that in his 37 years of living in Saratoga, he had never encountered anyone who had problems with dogs or did not like dogs.

Councilman Norman Kline said that he was not even aware that such an ordinance existed and said that there should be more flexibility when it came to exercising dogs off-leash.

"I think problems arise when one dog is off-leash and the other is not," said Councilman Stan Bogosian. "Whatever we do, we should not do something that impacts the wildlife in city parks. I am thinking of parks like Wildwood which have a lot of wildlife." Bogosian said that sheriff's deputies should be involved in future discussions about the possible dog park.

Vice Mayor Kathleen King said that the input of people who don't own dogs should also be taken into account. "I was told by a 10-year-old that a person came to a local park and had seven dogs. He then proceeded to unleash all of them," she said. Councilman Nick Streit said that the people responsible for using the park should also look after the park. He said that someone from the group must be present at the park during the dog hours.

About 40 dog lovers showed up for the meeting on Oct. 20.

Mayor Ann Waltonsmith said that she was ready to send the issue back to the parks and recreation commission. "We need a plan that we can all live with," said Waltonsmith. "There are folks that are fearful of dogs. We need to hear from them." She said that dog excreta is easier to clean if the dogs are on a leash.

"This is the best we were hoping for. They need to talk to everyone before they decide," said Barbaro after the meeting.

There are 1,055 licensed dogs in the city of Saratoga, according to officials at San Jose Animal Care and Services, part of San Jose Animal Control.