somerville dog: a weblog

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

Posted by Michèle at 8:31 PM
Categories: Destinations, Off-Leash Recreational Areas—i.e. "Dog Parks", Somerville
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Last year Philip Greenspun asked readers of his weblog for suggestions for a dog-friendly bank:

My bank has been purchased, for about the fifth time. Currently it is called “Bank of America.” None of the previous changes of ownership or name bothered me but this time the new color scheme came with “no dogs allowed” signs in the front of every branch office . . . . Anyone have a suggestion for a dog-friendly bank in the Boston area?

Bostonians today have several pet-friendly options in the banking community, according to an article in the Boston Globe ("Competing banks find pets are in their interest" by Jenn Abelson, Globe Staff, July 27, 2006):

When Bank of America merged with FleetBoston two years ago, smaller banks saw it as an opportunity to bring in new customers. . . . With more banks competing for dollars—Citigroup is the latest to enter the market—every move counts, especially being nice to man's best friend. . . .

Citizens Bank recently created a dog section in its South End branch in Boston, where pooches can eat biscuits, lap up water, and hang out while their owners do their banking business. An Eastern Bank in Lynn hands out homemade dog biscuits—along with recipes so owners can make the goodies themselves. Hingham Institution for Savings offers dog treats at all of its branches.

``It's not really the dog we're attempting to please. The deposits dogs are capable of making we generally prefer not to have," said Robert H. Gaughen Jr. , the president of Hingham Institution for Savings. ``Owners' deposits are the ones we're really pleased with."

Strummer comes with me when I bank at the Harvard Square branch of the Cambridge Trust Company, and when I bank at both the Davis Square and the Harvard Square branches of Sovereign Bank.

Posted by Michèle at 1:01 PM
Categories: Dogs and Business
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Stephen J. Dubner and Steven D. Levitt, authors of the Freakonomics column in The New York Times Magazine consider a high-tech proposal to the address the urban nuisance of dog poop that was proposed by Lauren Mecka, a sixth-grader from Hoboken, NJ : DNA sampling ("Dog-Waste Management," October 2, 2005).

It's a good proposal. Both a video and the text of Ms. Mecka's address to the Hoboken City Council is archived online at edmecka.com, "The Hoboken Community Activist Website."

According to Dubner and Levitt, DNA sampling has been proposed for dog waste management independently by civic leaders in Vienna and Dresden, where, unlike Hoboken, it is under consideration.

It might cost about $30 million to establish a DNA sample for all the dogs of New York. If people stop violating the law, then New York has spent $30 million for cleaner streets; if not, the $30 million is seed money for a new revenue stream. Unfortunately, there's a big drawback to this plan. In order to match a pile of poop with its source, you will need to have every dog's DNA on file - and in 2003, the most recent year on record, only 102,004 dogs [estimated to be 10% of all dogs] in New York were licensed. Even though a license is legally required, costs a mere $8.50 a year and can be easily obtained by mail, most dog owners ignore the law, and with good reason: last year, only 68 summonses were issued in New York City for unlicensed dogs. So even if the DNA plan were enacted today, most offenders would still go unpunished.

In fact, it stands to reason that the typical licensed dog is less likely to offend than the typical unlicensed dog, since the sort of owner who is responsible enough to license his dog is also most likely responsible enough to clean up after it. How, then, to get all of New York's dogs licensed?

How indeed? Mecka suggests

conducting an annual doggie- registration day, [which] could be sponsored by one or more of the major dog food companies held in the spring and promoted as a fun-filled day for pooches and owners alike.

Dubner and Levitt suggest paying people to license their dogs:

Instead of charging even a nominal fee, the city may want to pay people to license their dogs. And then, instead of treating the licensing law as optional, enforce it for real. Setting up random street checks for dog licenses may offend some New Yorkers, but it certainly dovetails nicely with the Giuliani-era ''broken windows'' approach to low-level crime.

Posted by Michèle at 9:40 AM
Categories: Canine Good Citizenship, Dogs and Culture, Shooting the S--t
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cross-posted on the som|dog calendar

Once again LaundroMutt, Cambridge's DIY dog wash, in cooperation with Polka Dog Bakery in the South End, is sponsoring a Charity Dog Wash to benefit the Trust for Public Land at Hotel Marlowe, adjacent to the CambridgeSide Galleria Mall, in Cambridge, Saturday, July 15, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

For $10, your dog gets a full service wash and dry from the professionals at Laundromutt, followed by make-your-own doggie sundaes courtesy of Polka Dog Bakery!

The event is also sponsored by KISS 108 FM, Progressive Talk AM 1200, AnimalAttraction.com, & Reflection Films.

Posted by Michèle at 6:18 PM
Categories: Events, Massachusetts
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