Dear Editor: As a proud parent of a two year old child and two Labrador Retrievers, I find myself in the middle of this dog vs. mom situation. I don’t believe that the Hoboken Dog Association is anti-mom or child. The dog owners in this town need a stronger voice because we are often overlooked or ignored as a group. I have to say that the Hoboken dog runs are appalling. Last summer when the Stevens Park dog run was rebuilt, we were promised that the stones would be cleaned by sprinklers once a week and that lime would be added and the stones turned once a month. In a year this has not happened once. I have to bring my daughter into this filthy run at least four times a week. Try convincing a two year old to stay on a bench and not walk around when her dogs are. Yes, more dog runs would be nice, but the three we have should be properly maintained. The city needs to show some effort on behalf of the dog owners in a timely fashion. I left the City Council meeting last week believing that the sprinklers would be turned on and the Stevens run cleaned. We are still waiting. The fine for not cleaning up after your dog should be $1000 both in and out of a dog run, in all weather, and it should be enforced. The money collected should be used to maintain and build new dog runs. An important point often overlooked is that dogs contribute a significant amount of money into Hoboken economy. Dog walkers, groomers, pet supply stores, vet offices, it adds up. I spend almost $700 a month on my dogs in this town and I know I’m not alone in doing so. The number of dogs registered with the city is grossly under reported for the simple reason that anyone with a dog and job outside Hoboken can’t ever get to the Health Department during their normal hours, 9 to 3:30, Monday to Friday. In other cities dogs can be registered by mail and applications are distributed by vets and pet supply stores. If the Health Department stayed open late one night a month or had an intensive drive to register dogs, I’m sure the mayor and city council would be surprised at how many more dogs there are in this town than 600, and each dog has one or two owners that vote. Christina Ryan Raggio