On Dec. 20, the DeKalb Park District opened up the city’s long-awaited dog park at Katz Park on Dresser Road.

Since its opening I have yet to visit the dog park with my miniature Pinscher, Buzz, and find it empty. I have always seen it full of dogs of all breeds and sizes.

My favorite part of DeKalb having a dog park is there are no restrictions that ban certain dog breeds — like Doberman pinschers, pit bulls and the like — due to them being labeled as “aggressive.” This is a wonderful rule and I commend the city of DeKalb for being open to all breeds.

The dog park’s regulation sign states that, “No dogs known to be aggressive toward other dogs or people may enter the area,” and that owners are responsible for keeping an eye out on their dogs.

“I’m excited that I can take my pit bull somewhere with other dogs knowing that there is not a bias toward the breed I have,” said senior sociology major Cameron Stingily. “They sometimes have size and breed restrictions, but they don’t here so I’m happy.”

In my experience as a dog bather and trainer, it’s the little dogs that are more prone to biting and displaying signs of aggression. The bigger dogs like pit bulls get the bad rep because if they do attack, they can seriously hurt people.

But, it’s not like every pit bull is going to hurt someone. My cousin’s pit bull has never shown any signs of aggression, even when my cousin’s newborn son was thrown in the mix.

“I love dogs and I’ve met all types of breeds and have never seen a pattern in any breed as far as being aggressive or mean in any way,” said graduate English student Maxwell Hoover. “I don’t think that dogs have a mean bone in their body unless they’ve been conditioned to.”

Luckily, it seems that the city of DeKalb has the right idea on not banning specific breeds. It is the responsibility of the owners to ensure they are properly socializing their dogs. Every time I go to the dog park, I am incredibly happy to see all the different types of dog breeds running and playing with no worries of breed prejudice ruining all the fun.