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FOUR SEASONS BREEZE | NOVEMBER 2018 53 I founded the Dog Owners Group in November, 2014. That means this month is our four-year anniversary! Our group has accomplished a lot in those four years: • Education of members and residents to pick up after their dogs has resulted in a cleaner community • Promotion of dog benefits within our community • Liaison to the BOD, committees, and residents on behalf of dog owners • Regular meetings to inform, communicate, and share information about dogs • Pack walks for dogs on weekends and during the week • Promotion of a fenced off-leash area for dogs at Four Seasons. A site has been selected and we are just waiting for final approval of the BOD and local authorities • Formation of an ad hoc committee to propose rules and regulations for the fenced off-leash area We are also making some big changes in our group to better serve the residents in Four Seasons. The Dog Owners Group is merging with our companion group, Tails and Trails, to form one large group with common goals. I will be stepping down as captain of the Dog Owners Group, effective this month. However, I will remain actively involved to ensure that the goals of the Dog Owners Group will be accomplished. In the meantime, you will still see me and my dog on our walks morning and evening, seven days a week, throughout Four Seasons. Stop and say, "Hi." ~ Patrick Gerety D.O.G. Tails & Trails - All Pets Tails and Trails is very excited about the many opportunities to grow our services and expand our reach. The decision to combine with the Dog Owners Group (DOG) will certainly help with that. There are many members who overlapped groups, but we are especially thrilled to welcome all those whose primary interest has been with the DOG. Joining forces should enable us to sharpen our focus and better serve all pet owners in the community. Our first order of business in this transition must be to acknowledge the wonderful insight and initiative of Patrick Gerety in founding the DOG. Had it not been for Patrick's drive to form the DOG, Tails and Trails might not exist as it does today. The community is all the better because of Patrick's willingness to put himself into the efforts of the DOG and to advocate for all the dog owners – and, in doing so, for all residents – at Four Seasons. Tails and Trails will continue to benefit from Patrick's insight as he remains active in the community. Thank you, Patrick! Tails and Trails held our final general meeting for 2018 last month, and our leadership is now working on wrapping up some 2018 initiatives, conducting an analysis of our service and fundraising activities, and looking for ways to improve and build on the foundational work of the past two years. Our leadership will continue to meet for planning and other activities. One of our primary challenges is assessing our general meeting date and time, which has been the fourth Wednesday of each month at 7 pm. When our meetings resume in January, we will make sure that we are scheduled in a way that optimizes opportunities for your attendance. Watch the January Breeze for updates on that or join our Facebook Group at https://www.facebook.com/groups/FourSeasonsTnT/. Volunteer! What makes all this work? It's our wonderful volunteers, which include owners of all types of pets and a few folks who just love animals and people, but don't have pets of their own. We are actively restructuring our leadership to include up to nine members on our Steering Committee. We want folks who have a little spare time to help guide our efforts and whose interests align with the goals of our group. Anyone interested in considering volunteer work with our group or an opportunity to lead an initiative, please contact Martha at (951) 295-7209. ~ Martha Baumgarten

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