somerville dog

Minneapolis/St. Paul

At the planning meeting for an off-leash initiative this evening I met a couple who will be moving to Somerville with their two dogs in September and who shared with the group their experiences at well-organized and highly functional dog parks in Minneapolis.

Check out the timeline of the St. Paul off-leash initiative, spearheaded by Responsible Owners of Mannerly Pets (ROMP)—and check out the ROMP dogs' matching bandanas!

June 1996 A small group of off-leash enthusiasts meet to discuss how to obtain sites where they can legally exercise their dogs off-leash. They choose a name for their effort: ROMP (Responsible Owners of Mannerly Pets).

October 1996 ROMP asks Ramsey County Parks to create two pilot sites, one in Maplewood and one in Shoreview.

January 1997 Ramsey County Parks approves pilot project.

July 1997 Ramsey County Parks opens pilot sites.

If Somerville dog owners can match the pace of ROMP, we could have an off-leash pilot program in thirteen months! When does the clock start ticking? We still don't have a name for our effort...

Team somervilledog.com!

The 24th annual MSPCA-Angell Walk for Animals, Sunday, October 17, 2004 at the Boston Common, will be a fun community-building event for Somerville dog owners. As a "team captain" my goal is to walk with a team of twelve Somerville dog owners and our dogs! MSPCA-Angell welcomes "all dogs that enjoy the company of other dogs" and that are "leashed, licensed, in good physical condition and up-to-date on all vaccinations." If you have a pet that cannot participate in the Walk, bring a photo for the "I Wish I Were Here" board!

If you are interested you can join the somervilledog.com team or make a donation online.

In addition to serving local communities with animal health clinics and adoption centers, the Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals is a national and international leader in animal protection; their "services include animal protection and adoption, advocacy, humane education, law enforcement and the highest-quality veterinary care available anywhere in the world."

MSPCA has seven animal care and adoption centers and three premier veterinary hospitals, including Angell Animal Medical Center in Boston, one of the foremost clinical veterinary institutions in the world. MSPCA law enforcement officers investigate cruelty complaints; inspect facilities and events involving animals; testify in court; work with police and social-service agencies in animal-related cases; and speak to school and community groups about animal care and protection. As an advocacy group MSPCA promotes workable "pets allowed" policies, help for pet owners with HIV/AIDS, Spay/Neuter Assistance, and Humane Education. MSPCA's Niven's Farm facilitates in rehabilitation and adoption of all kinds of farm animals. The Hillside Acre Animal Cemetery offers a lasting tribute to beloved animal companions, bringing support and peace of mind to bereaved pet owners.

If you would like to take a lovely stroll with your Somerville dog and support the MSPCA on October 17, please join the somervilledog.com team. How will you and your leashed dog get to the Boston Common on Sunday morning? Why not take the T?

Off-Leash Recreation in the News

via Boston Dogs

The Christian Science Monitor ran an article on off-leash recreational areas on December 29, 2004, covering the conflicts that have arisen over off-leash recreation--such as the dog park in Fort Ethan Allen Park in Arlington, VA and Ohlone Dog Park in Berkeley, CA--and how dog owners, other park users and city administrators worked together to resolve them. The article also offers the success story of Fort Woof, a five-acre dog park in Fort Worth, TX, which "opened in April [2004], and has become one of the city's most-used parks."

som|dog website

The som|dog website is now "live," and I have moved some information from this weblog to that site. For example, the link to the local weather forecast from Weather Underground is now on the som|dog information page. The links to other dog owner groups as well as the links to websites providing information about starting a dog park are now in the bibliography, located under som|dog resources. I have also moved the link to the Somerville Dog Owners Group message board to the som|dog homepage.

The som|dog logo on the blog homepage links to the som|dog website.

Soon I will be adding information about past (and upcoming) som|dog meetings to the som|dog events page. You can still find the agendas and summaries of past meetings on the message board.

Speaking of som|dog meetings, the first som|dog meeting of 2005 will be rescheduled soon. The meeting previously scheduled for January 24, 2005 was postponed due to a snow emergency. I had been waiting to reschedule the meeting until the Green Line meeting was reschduled. The Green Line meeting has been rescheduled for to Monday, February 28, 2005 from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. at Somerville High School.

Beverly considers off-leash options at Bessie Baker Park

Friends of dogs in Beverly, MA formed the Beverly Animal Resource Coalition (BARC) in 2002, around the time that their Parks and Recreation Department proposed an ordinance change that would ban dogs from Lynch Park (see "No dogs, no spirit," by Brian McGrory, Globe Columnist, 9/24/2002).

More than two years later, Beverly is still having trouble identifying viable options for off-leash recreation. Bob Gates writes for the Beverly Citizen that there is at least as much concern about off-leash recreation at Bessie Baker Park as there is support.

Animal Control (and city websites): Another Model

The town of Belmont, MA gets it: A city is comprised of the citizens, and city administrations are established to serve the citizens.

Check out the official website for Belmont. Their Animal Control Department (part of the Health Department) has a page where lost and missing pets can be listed and a page of pets available for adoption. It also has a page for the Belmont Dog Owners Group.

Mount Misery Organization

In the past year that Strummer has been a member of my family I've taken her to a lot of places I'd never before been: The Middlesex Fells, Fresh Pond Reservation, the Arnold Arboretum, Cat Rock, Wingaersheek Beach, Singing Beach. We visit new (to us) dog-friendly places as I learn of them and return to our favorites regularly.

Though it gets "three paws up" from the Dog Lover's Companion to Boston, we have never been to Mount Misery. I hope we haven't missed our chance.

This spring new regulations were approved relating to dogs at Mount Misery: "effective Monday, April 4, all dogs at Mt. Misery and the neighboring fields will be required to be on a leash at all times. In addition, dog walkers will be required to remove all feces deposited by their dogs in this area" ("New regs proposed for Mount Misery," the Lincoln Journal, March 10, 2005, via the Mt. Misery Organization website).

Note: The majority of the articles and letters that have been printed in the Lincoln Journal with regard to these regulations are no longer available on the Journal's website, but they have been archived by Lincoln dog owner, Dick McWalter on the Mt. Misery Organization's news page. In addition to the Mt. Misery Organization another group, Friends of Mt. Misery, has also formed to faciltate communication between people who enjoy Mount Misery and the stewards appointed by the Town.

Mount Misery comprises "more than 200 acres of woods, trails and agricultural fields bounded by Route 117, Route 126 and the Sudbury River in Lincoln" ("New dog regs at Mt. Misery," March 24, 2005).

Mary Lincoln, Chairperson of the Lincoln Conservation Commission, explains:

the Mt. Misery lands were purchased with state and federal funds as well as local funds. Lands purchased with public funds must be open to all persons in the Commonwealth for passive recreation. However, the commission is still the entity responsible for the stewardship of these lands and as such may limit use or limit access as necessary to protect the land and the ecosystem it supports, so long as we do not discriminate or give priority to our own residents ("Commentary: Can co-existence be achieved?," April 21, 2005).

In response to the organization of a local dog owners, the Commission postponed the implemation of the regulations until after a public hearing could be held to discuss them ("Leash rule postponed," April 7, 2005).

"More than 100 residents of Lincoln and of surrounding towns filled the Hartwell multipurpose room April 27 for the hearing. . . . A follow-up meeting, at which commissioners are scheduled to make a decision on the regulations, is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, May 18" ("Dog regs disputed," May 5, 2005).

I am very encouraged that the townspeople of Lincoln and the Lincoln Conservation Commission are cooperating to find a solution that "will protect the land and the ecosystem it supports" and ensure that Mount Misery continues to serve the many and diverse needs of "all persons in the Commonwealth for passive recreation."

Responsible dog owners have ten good reasons to clean up after our dogs every time. We appreciate the courtesy of mutt mitts afforded at some dog-friendly places, and we find the amenity of adequate trash receptacles preferable to "carry away" policies.

We also support leash laws. In a perfect society we would be able to allow our dogs off-leash: Responsible dog owners understand that, even off-leash, dogs have no more right to "run free" than people do. After all, people stay to the right when we walk on sidewalks, we look both ways before crossing the street, and we do not walk in our neighbors' flowerbeds. Even if I could keep Strummer in a perfect heel every day when we walk along Somerville's streets, leash laws protect us from the owners of other dogs who cannot.

Like our dogs, society is not perfect. We need leash laws, and that is why we also need options for off-leash recreation. (Analogously, we seem to need laws against playing ball on streets [City Ordinance 12-13], which is why we also need ball parks.) Our dogs need to socialize with other dogs and with people. A properly socialized dog does not bark or lunge at other dogs. Moreover, a properly socialized dog can easily be trained to walk appropriately on a leash. And, a tired dog is a good dog. Local options for off-leash recreation benefit every community in the Commonwealth.

Responsible Dog Owner Groups

Jonathan Ralton is a responsible dog owner and lives in Brighton. In June 2003 he set up a yahoo group for neighborhood dog owners. Today the Ringer Playground Dog Owners Group includes ninety-two members who have posted over 600 messages.

Ralton and other members of the Ringer Playground Dog Owners Group are active members of the Ringer Playground Crime Watch Group,¹ which, in February of this year, was featured in an article in the Boston Globe, "Dogs add bite to crime watch."

¹Additional information about the activities of the Ringer Park Crime Watch Group is available on the website of Emerald Necklace Budo Martial Arts.

The efforts of Ralton and the Ringer Playground Dog Owners Group, both behind the scenes and on the front line, to make their neighborhood and their neighborhood park a better place are worthy of both praise and support. Instead of praise, however, the community newspaper blames the group for the tension between dog owners and other members of the community who enjoy the 12.38 acre park:

Noreen Kennedy is shocked that dog owners are allowing their pooches to dig holes in the softball field, where she practices with the Allston-Brighton Women's Softball League.

"When these dogs are off leash, they're out of control of these people," said Noreen Kennedy. "Their attitude is if anyone is bothered by it, all they have to do it ask me."

But Kennedy, who owns two shiatsus [sic] herself, said that unfairly puts the responsibility on parents and other park users.

. . .

Kennedy blames the problem on a local dog owner Web site started in 2003.

Kennedy probably owns a pair of Shih Tzus, not a pair of massage therapists, and she has a point: It is the responsibility of everyone who owns a dog to ensure that her or his dog never greets a person without that person's explicit consent. What is so insidious about the Allston-Brighton TAB's reporting, however, is that it implies that Ralton disagrees with her.

On the contrary, it is because of the passion of Ralton and the Ringer Park Dog Owners Group that more and more dog owners in Allston/Brighton understand the responsabilities of dog owners both to their dogs and to their community.

Want better-behaved dogs in your community? Support your local dog owners group!

Ball Parks and Dog Parks in Lancaster County (PA)

Strummer and her humans spent a hot and humid week in Lancaster, PA, visiting family. On August 8, she had the honor of meeting Ross Peebles, one of the Lancaster Barnstormers pitchers. It was the "Dog Days of Summer" at Clipper Magazine Stadium, and the Barnstormers beat the Atlantic City Surf 9-1 to move into first place in the Southern Division of the Atlantic League!

Among the organizations participating in the "Dog Days of Summer" was the Manheim Township Dog Owners Group (MTDOG), which supports off-leash recreation at Overlook Park, a 120-acre regional park in Manheim Township. The township occupies 23.4 square miles in the center of Lancaster County, bordering the City of Lancaster to the north. The population in 2000 was 33,697.

Later in the week, Steve Bussanmas, a member of the Overlook Community Foundation Board, gave me a tour of the site where a new dog park is under construction and spoke to me a bit about the process of including an off-leash recreational area in Overlook Park and of the role he anticipates the off-leash recreational area will play in the community.

When I asked Steve about his dog, I was surprised to learn that he is not a dog owner. He became a dog park advocate when his daughter moved to Atlanta, GA, and he was worried about her being alone. She adopted a dog, and, when he visited her in her new home town, he discovered that his daughter had become a part of the local community of dog owners. He returned to Manheim Township and helped to found MTDOG. As he said to the Manheim Township Board of Commissioners at the regular meeting of the Board on December 13, 2004, "Manheim Township does not have a downtown or a center:" he sees the potential for a dog park to bring members community together and, along with existing park amenities (a golf course, driving range, ball fields—both soccer and baseball—miniature golf, and public roller skating rink), to help make Overlook Park an activity and cultural center and to enhance the quality of life in the Township.

Initially the dog owners group hoped to locate the off-leash recreational are in another part of the park where there is a pond, but abutters, fearing that people who brought their dogs to play with other dogs in the park would allow their pets to jump the park's fences and terrorize their children, succeeded in getting the proposed area relocated to another part of the park. Opposition to the Foundation's overall mission to create an activity and cultural center and to enhance the quality of life in the Township continues and is fomented by factions in the Township that do not want tax dollars to be used to pay for the projects at Overlook Park.

The site of the future Overlook Dog Park features a small wooded section, a sunny area and plenty of space for the dogs to play. Access to the dog park will be controlled by a gated entry. Park users must have a valid key card to unlock the gates. In addition to a large common area, the dog park will have a fenced-in 3/4 acre area for small dogs (<30 lbs.) as well as a 2+ acre fenced-in area for large dogs (>30 lbs.). In its 2003 report to the Manheim Township Commissioners, the Foundation projects that in addition to user fees, revenue for the dog park will be generated by programming, dog shows, vaccination clinics, and grooming services, that can be organized in the common area.

Seventy-five percent of the initial costs for the dog park are being provided by a loan from the Township, but the local dog owners group is obligated to pay back the loan over the course of the next ten years. If the dog owners group makes improvements to the area, the cost of the improvements will be counted toward the payback of the loan.

Yard Sale Sunday for off-leash recreation

Come do your back-to-school shopping at the som|dog yard sale on Sunday, August, 28, at 38 Hanson Street (map), from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.

Friends of Somerville dogs have donated lots of great stuff to outfit a new apartment. We're even selling a printer! Or, if you're on the solar calendar and will be enjoying summer until the the autumnal equinox, you may be interested in the hammock we have for sale. And, of course, we'll have great stuff for dogs, too!

Bring your dog! Early shoppers will receive a free bag of dog treats (while supplies last)!

All proceeds will be donated to Somerville Unleashed, the City's fund for off-leash recreational areas for dogs!

MSPCA-Angell Walk For Animals - Saturday, September 10

It's not too late to support MSPCA-Angell by joining the Somerville Dog Owners Group in the Walk for Animals, tomorrow, Saturday, September 10, 2005. There are two ways that you can help:

• Join our team by registering on our team page
• Sponsor our team by making a donation on our team page

Somerville dogs and their friends will enjoy a leisurely one-and-a-half mile stroll around Boston Common in the Walk for Animals. Registration begins at 10:30 a.m. and the walk begins at noon. There will be other fun activites during the day, too:

• American Kennel Club Canine Good Citizen demonstrations and testing

  When I make hotel reservations, I love to be able to say that my dog is a certified AKC Canine Good Citizen. Get your dog's Canine Good Citizen certification Saturday at the Walk for Animals!

• Canine Agility Demonstrations
• Boston Police K-9 Demonstration

som|dog team members are meeting Saturday morning at 10:00 in "the pit" outside the Harvard Square T Station and will be taking the T to the Walk for Animals. We will rendezvous at 11:00 in Boston Common at the entrance to the parking garage (at the corner of Beacon Street and Charles Street).

team som|dog

...and, slumming with team som|dog, here's Nelson! An honorary Somerville dog, Nelson lives in Cambridge.

Prospero (husky mix), Penn (greyhound), Strummer (standard poodle) and Nelson (golden retriever), walked with their human companions in the 25th Annual MSPCA-Angell Walk for Animals, Saturday, September 10, 2005 in Boston Common. We raised $360 to benefit the programs and services of MSPCA-Angell!

Penn is an honorary Somerville dog, too. He was recently rescued from the race track by Greyhound Welfare and is being fostered in Somerville.

Prospero proved himself to be a natural in the canine agility ring. The Metro South MSPCA Animal Care and Adoption Center in Brockton offered agility demonstrations and try-outs.

"The MSPCA encourages agility training for nearly any breed of dog over the age of one. Agility training promotes bonding, is a great socialization activity, and enhances your dog's obedience training."

The tunnel obstacle was one of many occasions when Prospero made us proud...

Paws for Parks Fundraiser

The Somerville Dog Owners Group is sponsoring the Paws for Parks Fundraiser to benefit Somerville Unleashed, the City of Somerville's fund for Off-leash Recreational Areas, Saturday, November 19, 2005, 1:30 to 4:00 p.m. at Tir na nÓg in Union Square (366a Somerville Avenue).

A suggested donation of $20 (Winners Dog), $50 (Best of Breed) or $100 (Best of Group) is requested. All guests will be eligible to win door prizes.

Many fabulous prizes have been donated for a silent auction. Guests will have an opportunity to bid on pet-friendly luxury hotel accommodations, fine dining, original artwork (like the bone painting shown here), and first-row balcony seats at the Celtics game on Monday, November 28, against the Orlando Magic!

If the weather is nice (and it's supposed to be mostly sunny, with a high around 47), guests will able to enter their dogs in contests for Best Ears, Best Wag, Best Vocalist, Best Trick, Longest Stay, Dog-Owner Look-Alike and, at the discretion of the judge(s), Best Kisser.

Somerville Dog Owners Group (som|dog)

To the readers of the Weekly Dig: welcome to the somerville dog weblog, and thank you for your interest in the Somerville Dog Owners Group (som|dog)! For historical reasons, the url for the som|dog website is www.somervilledog.com/somdog. If you have a message and are looking for the online message board for dog owners (Somerville's first, albeit virtual, dog park), the url is www.somervilledog.com/board.

To everyone who has been telling me that the somervilledog.com url should really be the homepage of the Somerville Dog Owners Group: you were right; I was wrong...

To everyone who works so hard with me in the Somerville Dog Owners Group: Out of respect for your privacy, I won't list your names here, but know that I know that, without you, the talented Jed Gottlieb would have had no story about "Fighting for the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of squirrels" for the Weekly Dig.

     To Smokin':
     Thanks for striking a pose
     for photographer
     Ivo Gretener.

To Zula: an interested sniff and a play bow from Strummer (Your monkey has made the monkeys in my house really happy today.)

Friends of Peters Park submits Boston's first Dog Recreation Space Application

In the Bostondogs Yahoo! group the Friends of Peters Park anounced today that they have submitted the first Dog Recreation Space (DRS) application, in accordance with the DRS ordinance that Mayor Menino approved over a year ago.

Especially for those who worked tirelessly for many years to lobby for, create, and ultimately ensure enactment of a Dog Recreation Space ordinance for the City of Boston, I thought that this interest group would be pleased to know that the first formal submission under the new ordinance guidelines has been made by the Friends of Peters Park in Boston's South End....

This proposal is a testament to the dedication and persistence of the Friends of Peters Park in crafting a DRS application that, in my opinion, not only meets both the letter and spirit of the ordinance, but also clearly establishes a necessary standard by which other submissions can be both fashioned and judged. Kudos to the Friends of Peters Park for their hard work, forbearance and for leading the way in Boston.

The Friends of Peters Park have made their application available as a .pdf file.

Congratulations Friends of Peters Park!

Off-leash in Nashua, NH

The Nashua Dog Owners Group (Nashua D.O.G.) is working to establish a permanent dog park in the City of Nashua, New Hampshire. Their efforts are described in a very nice article by Andrew Nelson that ran in the Nashua Teleraph on Tuesday, May 23, "Dog group nearly paws-itive park plans will move forward" (registration required).

Nashua D.O.G. has submitted a proposal to their board of aldermen to create a members-only off-leash recreational area on city-owned property, which the group would lease from the City for $1 a year. The group would assume responsibility for the construction of the dog park: the proposed budget for the project, according to the article, is $75,000. The group would also assume responsibility for maintenance of the area. Access to the area would be restricted to registered members who would be issued a passkey to enter the area. A passkey system is in use at the Overlook Dog Park in Manheim Township, in Pennsylvania.

Currently, Nashua D.O.G. sponsors a weekly off-leash play group on private property. Dogs must be registered in advance to attend the play group, and the weekly fee is $3 per dog. Some weeks, more than 160 dog attend the two-hour play group, and Nashua D.O.G., a 501(c)(3) organization, collects about $500 weekly in playgroup fees.

Dog Recreation Space for Dorchester

UPDATE 1 January 2007: In addition to their Yahoo! group, RoDogRun has a website at www.rodogrun.org/.

Citing benefits for park safety and park stewardship, not to mention an improved sense of community, the Ronan Park Dog Run Group is preparing to submit a Dog Recreation Space proposal to the City of Boston Parks and Recreation Department, according to an article that ran in the Dorchester Reporter, today ("Pooch-lovers push for Ronan Park paradise," by Demetra Chornovas).

The Friends of Ronan Park, a park stewardship group, welcomes the inclusion of a dog run as an improvement that will benefit all users.

Boston Mayor Menino signed the Dog Recreation Space (DRS) Ordinance in January 2005. The Friends of Peters Park submitted the first DRS application in January 2006.

Toast to a fenced dog run in Ronan Park (Dorchester)

RoDogRun is sponsoring their first fundraiser to build a fenced dog run in Ronan Park, located on historic Meetinghouse Hill in the Dorchester neighborhood of Boston.

Make a toast to the dogs, Saturday, December 2, 2006, 5-8pm at the Blarney Stone, 1505 Dorchester Avenue, Dorchester (2 blocks from the Fields Corner T Station).

$20 cover includes appetizers and a donation to help build a fenced dog run in Ronan Park.

There will be raffle prizes and dog-friendly gift bags.

RSVP by November 28.
The Blarney Stone welcomes all humans. Please make other arrangements for your canine companions.

Congratulations NYCdog!

The New York Council of Dog Owner Groups applauds the State Supreme Court ruling from Judge Peter J. Kelly on November 30, 2006 denying, in its entirety, the Juniper Park Civic Association’s petition to compel the Parks Department and the City of New York to end the successful 20-year off-leash courtesy hours policy (9 PM until parks close, and when they re-open until 9 am, only in certain designated Park spaces).

In May 2006 the so-called* civic association interpreted existing municipal ordinances to prohibit the Parks Commissioner from designating off-leash courtesy hours in parks without designated off-leash areas. The NYC Health Board votes on Tuesday on new regulations that would clarify the Parks Commissioner's authority to designate off-leash courtesy hours in parks without designated off-leash areas.

*In my humble opinion, there is nothing "civic" about an association that wants to deny the enjoyment of public open space to 40% of their neighbors.

Off-leash Hours in NYC Parks codified

The New York Council of Dog Owner Groups (NYCdog) cheers the unanimous vote of the NYC Health Board to amend Section 161.05 of the City Health Code, commonly known at the "Leash Law," granting the NYC Parks Commissioner explicit authority to permit off-leash recreation in the New York City parks at certain locations and at certain times.

What makes dog parks successful?

In an article that ran in the Brookline Tab on November 30, 2006, Correspondent Lara Farrar contributed a story about off-leash hours at Winthrop Park, in which she spoke with people from neighboring communities about successful off-leash recreation programs.

Ward Three Alderman, Thomas Taylor, commented very graciously about the partnership of the City of Somerville and the Somerville Dog Owners Group.

     Thomas Taylor is an alderman in Somerville who advocated for the city's first dog park. He said what has made a big difference is the Somerville Dog Owners Group, an independent group that has rallied for off-leash spaces, even raising money to fund the projects.

     "If you can create a group, that could make a big difference," he said.

Thanks, Alderman Taylor. Somerville's Ward Three, the only Ward with an Off-Leash Recreational Area, gets my vote as the Best Ward in the City!

Community Meeting about Boston Common off-leash hours

BostonDOG is holding a Community Meeting tonight about the suspension of Boston Common off-leash hours until 2008. The meeting is at 7:00 p.m. at Hill House, 127 Mt. Vernon St.

The Boston Parks and Recreation Department in partnership with the Mayor’s Office of Neighborhood Services, Beacon Hill Civic Association and Councilor Michael Ross’s office is meeting with interested groups and organizations to discuss events, the off-leash dog area, and related issues on January 23, 2007, at the Hill House at 7 p.m. For more information, please see the Boston Parks Department's post on the Boston Dog Owners Group Forum.