Dog owners chafe at
Photo by Ann Ringwood
Mike Onesty and his chocolate Lab
“Bebe” walk around
When Mike Onesty asks his 5-year-old chocolate
Labrador Bebe if she wants to go for a walk, you
don’t have to be pet psychic to know that the answer is yes.
Bebe is on her feet and at the back door in a
matter of seconds, wiggling with anticipation of a romp in
You also don’t have to be a pet psychic to see Bebe,
like her owner, isn’t happy about the new leash rule in the park. As Onesty leans over to clip the leash to her bright orange
collar, she stops wiggling and walks in step, her head lowered, beside Onesty.
“Her whole demeanor changes,” says Onesty on a
rainy Monday morning. “This is part of the absurdity of it. She can run
anywhere she wants till she gets up to the park.”
Town bylaws require that dogs be either leashed or under the voice control
of their owners at all times, but last spring the Board of Selectmen went one
step further by mandating that all dogs be leashed at NARA. During a June 4
meeting attended by Onesty and several angry dog
owners, the selectmen voted unanimously to maintain the leash rule.
The Recreation Commission, which oversees the park, originally suggested
that the selectmen impose a leash rule at all the parks in town.
“We said we didn’t want to do it everywhere because that would be too
draconian and too much of a change,” said selectmen Chairman Doré Hunter.
Instead, the selectmen chose
“I think it’s reasonable to have one place in town where people can go
[without having to worry about dogs],” said Selectman Andy Magee. “
Cathy Fochtman, the town’s recreation director,
said that camp officials have complained of problems with dogs running free
near camp in the past, including dogs getting too close to campers who are
afraid of them and stealing balls during games.
Still, many dog owners are irked that the selectmen did not adopt a proposal
to create specified off-leash hours to accommodate dog owners, a compromise
supported by residents on both sides of the debate during the June 4
selectmen’s meeting. Instead, the board asked the Recreation Commission to look
into what other communities do and make a recommendation to the board in the
fall.
“We approached the selectmen with a very reasonable compromise and they
proceeded to just say no,” said Glenn Rifkin, who regularly takes his
8-year-old golden retriever to
Rifkin did say that he was pleased with the response he received during a
July 13 meeting with the Recreation Department, where he discussed possible
compromises, such as off-leash hours.
Both Hunter and Magee said they were open to the idea of off-leash hours at
Like Onesty, Rifkin lives close to
Rifkin and other dog owners say concerns about the threat
unleashed dogs pose to other people in the park is overblown.
“She wouldn’t know how to hurt someone if I tried to giver her
instructions,” he said of his dog.
Several angry dog owners say that responsibility for a dog’s behavior rests
with the owner, not the town.
“In the end, it’s my responsibility if she bites someone,” said Onesty. “If I had a mean dog, I wouldn’t take her to a
public park.”
But even Onesty agrees that not all dogs are as
well behaved as Bebe, who obeys commands to come back
to Onesty’s side when someone approaches. He has seen
dogs running out of sight of their owners, as well as dogs who
come to the park without their owners, including a large Alaskan husky who used
to frequent the park on its own.
The two sides also differ on how well the leash rule is working.
Representatives from the Recreation Department, the Recreation Commission and
the Board of Selectmen said that most dog owners are complying with the new
rule and leashing their dogs. They also say there is less dog waste scattered
throughout the park, as well as more people using the park in general.
“For the time being it’s kind of been accepted,” said Ron Schlegel, chairman
of the Recreation Commission.
But dog owners tell a different story.
Onesty still walks Bebe
off her leash for most of their daily loops around the park, only leashing her
when they pass the campers on the west side of the park, and he says many other
dog owners he knows continue to do the same.
“I don’t see a difference between pre- and post-leash rule,” he said.
Town officials admitted that enforcement of the rule is difficult, and said
the town has not set up a system of fines for dog owners who do not comply.
“Its enforcement is tricky,” said Schlegel. “We hope a little conscious
observation of the policy is all it would take.”
The ultimate penalty for violating the rule, said Schlegel, is to bar repeat
offenders from the park, a step that has not yet been taken against any dog
owner.
But for Onesty, and many others, that’s not enough
to deter them from giving their dogs a run in the park.
“I do what I think is the right thing to do when it comes to her safety and
the safety of other people,” Onesty said. “If anybody
asked, I would put her on a leash in heartbeat.”
Christian Schiavone
can be reached at 978-371-5743 or at cschiavo@cnc.com.