Yeas and Nays
Last week I was pleased to read an article in The Somerville Journal about interest among Somerville residents and in City Hall in the needs of dog owners for off-leash areas in the city. This week the Journal published several readers' opinions. A letter to the editor strongly supports legal off-leash spaces. The Journal also prints opinions submitted anonymously by telephone in a section called "Speak Out." Two of the calls in "Speak Out" this week responded to last week's article about the lack of dog parks in the city. The calls recorded in "Speak Out" are not published in the online version of the paper.
One of the callers agrees that dogs should be allowed in city parks at times when the parks are not being used for other socially constructive purposes:
I want to talk about dogs . . . . In discussions about dogs in parks, I don't think it has to be an all or nothing situation. A lot of the parks aren't used at all during the colder months and during the early spring and late at night. I don't understand why, if dog owners are willing to pick up after their dogs, we can't use those spaces to let our dogs roam free in that particular area for short periods at night or during the colder months. We don't need to designate a[n] exclusive area for dogs. Most of us work and can't be in a dog park anyway. Most people who have small children only use them during the day. Why don't we take full advantage of the open space that we have and instead of having a complete rule against having dogs in the parks? Let's make certain that dog owners are responsible, and yet let them use the open spaces so dogs can run in the early morning and at night.This is not an unreasonable solution to the problem of accommodating residents who own dogs in a city as densely populated as Somerville. According to the Somerville Municipal Ordinances, sec. 12-51: Dogs in parks and playgrounds,
When the commissioner of public works, in his or her discretion, shall determine that any park, playground, schoolyard, or other public area in the control of the city is inappropriate for the allowance of entry by dogs, due to usage by small children, or landscaping considerations, or any other reason sufficient to him or her, he or she shall cause such place to be posted with appropriate and sufficient signs reading, "No Dogs Allowed." No person shall permit, suffer or allow any dog owned by him or her, or in his or her custody or control, whether restrained or unrestrained, to enter upon any park, playground, schoolyard, or other public area in the control of the city so posted as aforesaid.The current signage could simply be replaced to indicate the hours when dogs are not allowed, for example: April - October 9:00 am - 7:00 pm. The City of Brookline is experimenting with a similar, albeit more sophisticated solution, the Green Dog Off-leash Pilot Program.
The second caller responding to the needs of Somerville dog owners is less accommodating:
I am very tired of dog owners demanding space for their dogs to run around off-leash. There is a reason why people in big cities didn't use[d] to have dogs. I bought a home near a beautiful park; now I get in my car and drive somewhere else to enjoy a park because of these people and their dogs. I have walked and sat in the disgusting mess that they leave behind. If I sit to read a book, one or more dogs will come up and approach me. If I ask the owners to call them back, the are insulted. "He is just being friendly. He is just playing," they say. Well, I don't want to play with your dog. I want to sit and read a book. The best is my neighbor who has a yard but walks three dogs to the park. Wouldn't want that disgusting mess in your own backyard? Perhaps if the dog people showed some basic respect for the rest of us, we'd be open to hearing their needs. If this is how they are now, I can't imagine they would be cleaning up a dog park. What neighborhood would you choose to put that smelly mess in? In times like these, I can't imagine we'd give up any green open space that people can enjoy and give it up to dogs.
There may be "a reason" why people in big cities don't have dogs, but I expect it's the same reason that people anywhere who don't have dogs don't have dogs. The fact is that there is no place in America where people do not have dogs. The population density of New York is over 26,000 people per square mile. According to the same source, the population density of Somerville is over 18,000 people per square mile. Yet the City of New York allows dogs off-leash in all city parks before 9 a.m. In addition, the city has thirty-four dog runs, not including six private dog runs.
The complaint about "disgusting messes" and dog-owners refusing to restrain their dogs from harassing park users are serious and valid complaints. Like the excrement of any species, dog excrement poses a potential risk of carrying disease and parasites that can be communicated to humans (and to other dogs for that matter). Dog owners should always and everywhere clean up after their dogs. Just as dog owners should always and everywhere clean up after their dogs, they should not allow their dogs to harass people who are enjoying some activity that does not involve dogs. Part of socializing a dog is teaching how to greet humans--sit-to-greet is the preferred greeting--and when it is appropriate to greet humans--i.e. when the human says it's okay.
Contrary to the misgivings of the caller, however, establishing legal off-leash areas is a way to address these complaints; legal off-leash areas will help to eliminate disgusting messes (at least the ones made by dogs1) and will help to isolate dogs from park users who do not wish to be approached by dogs. Dog parks foster responsible dog ownership, which is the key to dogs living harmoniously in human communities.
1I found a dirty diaper--eww-- outside the port-a-potty--again, eww--in Nunziato Field one morning. Fortunately, being a dog owner, I happened to have a plastic bag in my coat pocket. I used the bag to pick up the diaper and dispose of it in the conveniently located trash receptacle in the park.