I spend hours a day at Orchard Park, and I take a lot of pride in that park. That is why I am speaking up now. I have been watching cats get dumped there, and I am tired of seeing a place meant for play, fun, barbecues, and get togethers turned into a place where scared animals hide in the woods until people leave. I love cats, and that is exactly why I know this has to stop.

Cats do not belong living in a park. They are scared of people, and people are often scared of them too. This is unfair to families who want to use the park the way a park is supposed to be used, and it is unfair to the cats who were put there instead of somewhere safe. When dumping keeps happening, everybody loses: the animals, the neighbors, and the people who care about this public space.

I am calling on the City of Schenectady to treat cat dumping at Orchard  Park as the serious community problem it is. The city should post clear anti-dumping signs at the park, enforce penalties for abandoning animals there, and create or expand safe surrender options so people have somewhere else to turn. If we want real change, we need both accountability and a humane alternative.

Orchard Park should be a place where people feel welcome and animals are not abandoned. I am asking the city to protect this park and stop allowing it to become a dumping ground. If you believe parks are for people and animals deserve better too, please sign this petition.