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I got a Flip Video camera for my birthday!
I had a lot of fun putting together this amateur video of Strummer meeting and greeting and socializing with other dogs at the Off-Leash Recreational Area at Nunziato Field here in Somerville. My analysis of the dogs' behavior reflects my personal observations as an attentive pet owner.
via FellsDOG
My daughter, Kate, will turn one year old in March. She has been to the beach three times since she was born. Each time the beach has been Singing Beach at Manchester-by-the-Sea, and each time Strummer, our standard poodle has been with her.
A resident of Manchester-by-the-Sea is asking her fellow townsfolk to deny my daughter the enjoyment of the beach.
According to an article in the Boston Globe today (creatively titled "Some fear town's beach is going to the dogs"), the Town of Manchester-by-the-Sea will be voting on banning dogs from Singing Beach year round at its annual Town Meeting on April 7. Patricia Morley, a resident of Beach Street and employee of the Town gathered the necessary signatures to introduce the dog ban at Town Meeting.
Currently the Town of Manchester-by-the-Sea allows dogs at Singing Beach from October through April. Especially during the colder months, most people at Singing Beach are accompanied by their dogs. A year-round ban on dogs will deny hundreds of families the opportunity to enjoy the beach together.
UPDATE 12 March 2008: The Singing Beach Committee of the Town of Manchester-by-the-Sea voted on Monday not to recommend passage of the article at Town Meeting. Residents will vote on the proposal to ban dogs year-round at Singing Beach at Manchester's annual Town Meeting, Monday, April 7 at 7:00 p.m. at Manchester Memorial School, 42 Lincoln Street, Manchester, MA 01944 (map)
UPDATE 21 March 2008: The 2008 Annual Town Warrant for the Town of Manchester-by-the-Sea is now online on the Town website. The unneighborly article that would ban dogs at Singing Beach is Article 30:
To see if the Town will vote to ban dogs from Singing Beach year round, or take any other action relative thereto.
Per petition of Patricia Morley, et al
UPDATE 2 April 2008: The Board-of-Selectmen recommends by a vote of 5-1 that families be banned from enjoying Singing Beach together with our dogs for two more months of the year from April through November. The Gloucester Daily Times, is calling the suggested closing of the beach to beach-goers a "compromise".
Come to the community meeting Wednesday, February 20, at 6:30 p.m. at the Tufts Administration Building, 167 Holland Street and help make sure that parks for people and pets are a priority in the City's Open Space and Recreation Plan for the upcoming five years.
When the City conducted a survey in 2002 about the most needed types of open space, eleven (11) respondents selected "dog run" in their top five.1
Today the Nunziato Off-Leash Recreational Area (OLRA) is used by hundreds of residents every week. It is more than just a "dog run," it is a place where people enjoy the benefits of socializing and exercising our dogs off-leash.
The OLRA at Nunziato Field serves many people in addition to those of us who enjoy it with our dogs. Because people have a place where we can play with our dogs off-leash, dogs are kept out of the adjacent field.
Somerville needs more places like the Nunziato off-leash recreational area. Over one-third of households own dogs, and not all of our homes are in walking distance to the Nunziato OLRA.
This year the City is again asking residents what types of open space are most needed in the City. Thousands of us need parks that we can enjoy with our pets. Let's speak up Wednesday evening for more off-leash recreational areas and more parks where we can walk our dogs on leash!
1 Somerville Open Space and Recreation Plan, 2002-2007 (.pdf)
