somerville dog

Patriots' Day

Good luck to the runners in the 2004 Boston Marathon! And Go Sox!

The forecast for today is for high temperatures in the 80's. Even if your not going to run (or watch) the Marathon or watch Red Sox game this morning, it's a good day to play hookie...

The Boston Phoenix featured dog-friendly outings in the Outdoors 2004 Supplement (April 2). Genevieve Rajewski's article, Dog Days, is a good reference for some twenty day-trips. Somervudlians may not even have to get in their cars to visit Fresh Pond Park, in Cambridge, or Sheepfold, a field in the Middlesex Fells Reservation in Medford. But the article includes plenty of destinations for pups whose favorite words are, "Wanna go for a ride?!" Take 'em for a hike in Harold Parker State Forest on Route 119 in Ashby, or take em for a swim at the dog-friendly (the park has "poop-bag dispensers"!) Stodder's Neck on Route 3A in Hingham.

Happy Patriots' Day!

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...

som|dog's first field trip

The 24th Annual MSPCA-Angell Walk for Animals turned out to be a great oppoutunity for a field trip. On Sunday, October 17, som|dog, the Somerville Dog Owners Group (represented here by the human companions of King, a greyhound, and Cinder, a lab/pointer mix), took a moment to research the City of Boston's off-leash pilot program in Boston Common.

The Pilot Program extends off-leash privileges in Boston Common from 5:00 a.m. to 7:00 a.m and establishes the following rules for off-leash recreation:

• All Dogs Must Be Licensed
• Owners Must Pick Up After Their Dogs
• Discourage Digging of Lawn Areas
• Dogs Must Be Under Control At All Times
• Only One Dog Off Leash Per Owner
• Only Adult Owners May Use the Prescribed Area

Across Charles Street, in the Public Garden, dogs are allowed on leash, as they are in Boston Common. And, as in Boston Common, in the Public Garden, the City of Boston provides doggie-bags.

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."

Poodle Humor

To celebrate the last day of this long winter, Strummer and I went to the beach yesterday. The beach we chose was Singing Beach, in Manchester-by-the-Sea. Dogs are allowed on Singing Beach from October through April.

Poodles, as you know, were bred to be water retrievers. Thus is it rather embarrassing to me when Strummer runs away from the waves as they roll up the beach. Don't get me wrong, Strummer had a fabulous time at the beach. She just didn't want to play with any of the dogs that were playing in the water, with whom I, of course, kept encouraging her to play.

Just as I was thinking that it was about time to start thinking about leaving the beach, Strummer got caught up in a game from which she just couldn't tear herself away. The game involved three other dogs: a border collie, who was fetching two balls with her people, a boxer, and a Parson Russell terrier, and consisted in a twisted version of keep-away: i.e. keep the border collie away from her tennis ball, and, if that fails, keep her away from her humans. This is one of Strummer's favorite games.

The border collie and her humans didn't seem to be enjoying the game so much, so I called Strummer away. She kept trying to give me the slip, and, finally, when the game reached a new level of excitement, she bolted.

The next thing I knew, all four dogs, my fastidious poodle not last among them, were diving head first into a wave!

I'm convinced that Strummer knew that, if she got wet, we'd have to stay longer to give her coat a chance to dry a little bit.

Good one, Strummer. But the joke's on you: I'll turn you into a water dog, yet!

Charlesgate Dog Run

via e-mail

From its website, you would never know that the Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) maintains a dog run. And, indeed they do not maintain it.

DogFriendly.com includes the Charlesgate Dog Run (at the Southwest corner of the Harvard--a.k.a. Mass. Ave--Bridge) in their City Guide for Boston, Massachusetts.

Here's a recent picture, taken by a local resident:

The photographer has contacted the DCR and has sent the photo to the Boston Globe's Photo Desk. He observes that the park, has "become a dump and has been like this for months. It is an ugly contrast with Storrow Drive, The Bridge and the Esplanade and hardly enhances the new banners put up for the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater."

"This is an example of a dog run designed to fail," says Penny Cherubino, a back bay resident and dog owner. "The run is too small, has no group to support or maintain it and was designed without a plan for trash removal. What you are seeing in that photo is from the homeless people who drove the dog owners out of there. The waste is human waste. There is a homeless community under the nearby bridge and they use the park as their bathroom and trash bin."

The stated mission of the Department of Conservation and Recreation is "to protect, promote and enhance our common wealth of natural, cultural and recreational resources for the well being of all." Judging by the recent photo of the Charlesgate Dog Run, I would say that, in this case, the DCR is not fulfilling its mission.

Can the Charlesgate Dog Run be saved? Certainly: with creative and combined efforts of not only the DCR and local dog owners but also, perhaps, other organizations that share an interest in issue, for example, the Massachusetts Coalition for the Homeless and the Neighborhood Association of the Back Bay.

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.

Top 10 Dog-Friendly Cities To Visit in North America - 2005

via Boston Dogs

DogFriendly.com has published its 3rd Annual list of Top 10 Dog-Friendly Cities To Visit in North America.

Boston residents, who, because of its dearth of safe and legal options for off-leash recreation, consider Boston one of the least dog-friendly major cities in the U.S. in which to live, will be surprised to learn that of the top ten dog-friendly cities to visit in the U.S. Boston is number three.

Families with dogs who are planning to visit Boston should be advised that some of the dog-friendly attractions listed for Boston are not quite as attractive as DogFriendly.com makes them out to be. For example, do not book a hotel on the basis of its proximity to the Charlesgate Dog Run. See for yourself: the "dog run" is not used and not usable by families with dogs.

Relocating? Anapolis, MD seeks dog owners

via e-mail

Looking to buy your next home in a dog-friendly neighborhood? Try Anapolis, MD, in Anne Arundel County. In addition to "four off-leash dog parks -- and one dog beach," the County features a "pet of the week" on its website home page, as reported in the Washington Post yesterday: "At Parks and Beach, Anne Arundel Dogs Are Given Free Rein."

Janet S. Owens, the Anne Arundel County [E]xecutive, . . . has taken pains to position Annapolis and its environs as a destination for dog owners

In a county known for chocolate Labradors and, increasingly, thimble-size lawns, Owens has taken the unusual step of opening four off-leash dog parks -- and one dog beach -- on little more than a hunch that the dogs would come. She wants to market Anne Arundel as a dog-friendly county, to lure the leash-and-collar set in the same way that Blue Ribbon schools attract parents. . . .

"I just knew. . . . that it would be a gathering place for people," Owens said. "And it just struck me: It's important to building neighborhoods and community -- quality of life."

"The leash-and-collar set." Hey! We're a demographic! $35.9 billion annually can't be wrong.

Field Trip: Brookline Avenue Playground

Strummer had the pleasure this morning of making the acquaintance of several Brookline dogs, who welcomed her at the Brookline Avenue Playground during off-leash hours.

One of twelve parks in the Town of Brookline Green Dog Pilot Program, the Brookline Avenue Playground has off-leash hours from dawn to 1:00 pm, April through November, and from dawn to dusk, December through March. At the Annual Town Meeting on May 25, 2005, the Town of Brookline voted to extend the Green Dog Pilot Program to June 30, 2006 (Article 17 of the Town Warrant).

When we arrived at the "playground" at 10:00 this morning, a soccer game was ending. Also, during off-leash hours, a volley-ball game was played. It seems that, though off-leash recreation is not allowed during hours that are not designated for off-leash recreation, other kinds of recreation are allowed during hours that are designated for off-leash recreation. At almost four acres, however, the Brookline Avenue Playground was able to accommodate this mixed usage this morning.

Austin, Benny, Buddy, Ethan, Murphy, Otis, Samson: Strummer hopes to be able to repay your hospitality some day soon!

Local History

War is declared on the canine species in New-York, and they being strangers, and not having formed alliances for self-defense, but on the contrary, distressed and friendless may have been exposed not only to war, but to pestilence and famine also (George Washington to William Grayson [his assistant secretary and aide-de-camp during the American Revolution], August 22, 1875, quoted by Mark Derr in A Dog's History of America, p. 74).

Washington was concerned about foxhounds he had "adopted" from the Marquis de Lafayette that were in the care of John Quincy Adams, who had brought the dogs to New York from Europe.

Washington's dogs were safe at home at Mount Vernon when he was supervising the construction of an earthenwork forts at what is now Fort Washington Park, located on Waverly Street in Cambridge. Today the park is one of four in the City of Cambridge where dogs are allowed off-leash.

Combining historical considerations with consideration for the people who live in Cambridge today, the Cambridge Historical Commission has approved the temporary installation of fencing that will make the legal off-leash recreation area a safe area for off-leash recreation. The new fencing is not historically accurate; therefore with its approval of the temporary fencing, the Commission has stipulated that, within five years, the City must come up with a more harmonic alternative.

"A dog's life is not very long," said Commission member Jo Solet. "And if we put off putting up the fence, it really is a sacrifice for the dogs and the people [who own them]."

The creative compormise was reported in the Cambridge Chronicle on January 12.

via the Cambridge Dog Owners Group (CDOG)

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!

While you were out

Bacon's person has posted (on flickr) what may be the first photograph of legal off-leash recreation in Somerville, MA.

I was in Florence the day the fence for Somerville's first off-leash recreational area (OLRA) was installed in Nunziato Field and the "No-Dogs-Allowed-Yadda-Yadda-Yadda" sign was removed from the Putman Street entrance to the OLRA.

The Grand Opening of the OLRA at Nunziato Field (on Summer Street at Putnam Street) will be Sunday, April 9, 2006, from 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.

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.

Boston's dog-friendly South End

Realtors have begun telling property owners they must make their buildings and apartment rentals more hospitable to the growing number of dog owners,

according to an article about the South End by Cristina Silva in the Boston Globe yesterday ("Lapping up luxuries").

Boston.com also has a slideshow featuring some of the dogs and the dog-friendly amenities of the South End, including the dog park at Peters Park, Tremont 647, which offers a doggie lunch on the patio every Saturday from 2 to 5 p.m., and Polka Dog Bakery.

via Bostondogs

Nunziato OLRA closed tomorrow - June 22, 2006

cross-posted on www.somdog.org, the website of the Somerville Dog Owners Group (som|dog)

The Nunziato OLRA will be closed tomorrow, Thursday, June 22, so that the fencing contractor can install the double gate at the Putnam Street entrance and reconfigure the entrance to the OLRA at the tree well on Summer Street. For more information, please contact Carlene Campbell, Community Outreach Director, Office for Strategic Planning and Community Development, City of Somerville: 617-625-6600, ext. 2500; ccampbell at ci.somerville.ma.us.

We will all enjoy safer access at the Putnam Street gate and better access at the tree well when the OLRA reopens on Friday, June 23!

Somerville Attraction

Check it out. On ExploreNewEngland.com, our off-leash recreational area at Nunziato Field is the feature attraction for Somerville!

Sharing Open Space in New York City

via e-mail

In the years that dogs have been allowed to run free in [New York] city parks, dog bites have decreased 90 percent

according to an op-ed piece in the New York Times today by Jonathan Safran Foer, "My Life as a Dog."

Whether or not the source is reliable is a good question: Foer intimates that his own dog, George, who "occasionally tries to eat [his] son" is one of the culprits keeping the decrease in dog bites in New York City from achieving one hundred percent.

Foer may not be a responsible dog owner, but he does have something worthwhile to say about the place of pet ownership in human communities. Pet ownership, Foer understands, is an inter-species relationship. From his relationship with his dog he has learned that "compromise is necessary to share space with other beings"— a lesson that applies not only in the myriad relationships individuals may have with one another, but also in relationships among groups and organizations of all kinds.

It's well and fine that Foer advocates "sharing our space with other living things," but the the off-leash hours policy in NYC parks is not about humans sharing public open space with dogs: It's about neighbors sharing space with each other; it's about park users sharing space with each other. People who enjoy off-leash recreation live in communities with people who do not like dogs. Public open space must accommodate park users who enjoy off-leash recreation as well as park users who enjoy basketball, frisbee, reading and soccer.

Yes, off-leash recreation is good for dogs. Off-leash recreation provides much needed opportunities for socialization and exercise, and dogs that are well socialized and that get enough exercise are better pets and better neighbors. They are less likely to develop inappropriate and destructive habits like barking, chewing, digging, lunging and jumping-up on people.

Off-leash recreation is good for humans, too. It provides an incentive for people to get out in the fresh air and to meet other people in the community who share similar interests.

Here in Somerville, MA, opportunities for off-leash recreation are provided in designated off-leash recreational areas according to posted rules. We have one OLRA, which opened almost eight months ago—the fully fenced-in OLRA at Nunziato Field. For the time being, one quarter-acre of open space must serve the 27,000+ people who live with dogs in Somerville. In New York City, overuse of the City's 40+ dog parks is mitigated by the Offleash Courtesy Hour policy: In public parks without designated areas for off-leash recreation dogs are allowed off-leash from 9 pm to 9 am.

The New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene Board of Health votes on December 5, 2006 whether to adopt amendments that will clarify the authority of the Parks Commissioner under the Health Code to allow dogs off the leash in City parks.

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.