somerville dog: a weblog

Somerville dog owners interested in the future of the dog run at Nunziato Field are encouraged to contact their aldermen. To find out who your alderman is, go to My Somerville, and enter your street address.

The American Kennel Club lists several reasons why dog parks are good for communities in their brochure on Establishing a Dog Park in your Community:

Allows dogs to exercise and socialize safely. Puppies and adult dogs need room to run, and enclosed play areas permit them to do so while preventing them from endangering themselves and others (for example, by running into the path of an oncoming vehicle). In addition, dogs who are accustomed to playing with animals and people other than their owners are more likely to be well-socialized and react well toward strangers.

Promotes responsible dog ownership. Dog parks prevent off-leash animals from infringing on the rights of other community residents and park users such as joggers, small children, and those who may be fearful of dogs. Parks also make it easier for a city to enforce its leash laws, as resident dog owners with park access have no reason to allow their canine companions off-leash when outside of the park.

Provides an outlet for dog owners to socialize. Dog parks are a great place for owners to meet other people with common interests. The love people share for their dogs reaches beyond economic and social barriers and helps to foster a sense of community. Park users also benefit from the opportunity to ask questions of other owners and find solutions to problems they might be having with their pet

Make for a better community by promoting public health and safety. Well-exercised dogs are better neighbors who are less likely to create a nuisance, bark excessively and destroy property. Their presence in the park, along with their owners, also helps to deter crime.

If you own a dog, chances are you've already got a long list of reasons why fenced-in off-leash areas are good for the residents of Somerville. My top three are

1) Since I adopted a dog, I have met and gotten to know a lot of people in the places where I bring my dog to run off-leash. If there were legal off-leash areas in Somerville, I would be meeting and getting to know my neighbors. Designated off-leash areas foster community relationships.

2) I am enrolled in training classes with my dog and I practice commands with my dog in my living room. Thus my dog is very well behaved in my living room. If it were legal for me to take my dog to parks in Somerville, I could practice commands with my dog in the park: she would learn to obey commands in an environment with a lot more distractions than there are in my living room. If Somerville had designated off-leash areas, Somerville's dogs would be better trained and better behaved dogs.

3) Responsible dog owners, because they are responsible, could really benefit the City's parks if our dogs were allowed in the City's parks. Dog owners who violate the municipal ordinance prohibiting dogs in parks, are de facto irresponsible dog owners. A dog owner who is all alone, surreptitiously breaking the law by having his dog in a park where dogs are not allowed, is very likely to neglect to pick up after his dog. Responsible dog owners, on the other hand, not only pick up after our dogs, but, to protect our dogs and ourselves from contracting parasites and diseases from coming into contact with other dogs' feces, we also pick up after other dogs whose irresponsible owners have neglected to do so. We are the only people in the City who carry spare plastic bags with us for the express purpose of picking up dog poop. If Somerville allowed responsible dog owners to exercise our dogs in the City's parks, the City's parks would be cleaner.