But at its March 16 meeting, the council cited budget constraints and decided to stick with the current ordinance that prohibits off-leash dogs in parks.

At the meeting, Saratoga Parks and Recreation Commissioner Tom Soukup outlined the findings of the dog park task force committee, a group made up of parks and recreation commissioners and interested citizens that had been formed in October after the demand for a dog park was made by some residents.

Soukup said that the committee had found only a few cities in California that had off-leash hours for dogs.

"The city of Woodland near Sacramento used to have off-leash hours. But they do not have that anymore," he said. "We found that the city of Petaluma has off-leash hours. Carmel and Santa Cruz are dog-friendly, too, but these are beach towns."

At the meeting, Elaine Clabeaux, a former parks and recreation commissioner who was part of the dog park task force, said that off-leash hours for dogs was a bad idea.

"I beg you to go with the status quo. Off-leash hours at local parks will infringe on the rights of children, walkers and bicyclists," she said. "Dogs are not dependable."

Margaret Metcalfe, a dog owner and a member of the Friends of Saratoga Dogs, passionately defended the rights of dogs when she spoke at the meeting.

"Some people say dogs are unpredictable. So are senior citizens and teenagers," she said. "If dogs and dog owners are special interest groups, so are soccer players."

She asked the city to have a three-month trial period for off-leash hours.

Stan Levy, another member of the group, said it was unreliable to depend on anecdotal evidence. "There will be bad events and there will be good events," he said.

Councilwoman Ann Waltonsmith said she had had animals as pets all her life and she would be pleased if a solution was found so that everyone could coexist together.

"We are looking at substantial financial cuts in the city. I do not see that we will have the staff time to support another program," said Councilman Nick Streit.

Vice Mayor Norman Kline said that there was no way that Saratoga could afford the expenses of off-leash hours at city parks right now. "We cannot afford staff. We are looking at some Draconian measures," he said.

Mayor Kathleen King said that several cuts would be made to the budget for next year. "We are doing away with school crossing guards. We cannot afford new programs now," she said.

Some Saratogans started demanding off-leash hours last year after the sheriff's deputies started ticketing owners who had their dogs off their leashes.