Pet owners say leash rules at Callahan State Park are ...a doggone shame
By Theresa Freeman/ Daily News Staff
Wednesday, October 4, 2006
FRAMINGHAM -- Pets have always been required to be on a leash in state parks, but rangers recently stepped up efforts to remind visitors of those guidelines, officials said this week.
Pet owners at Callahan State Park last week said Forest and Park Supervisor John Dwinell has been telling people that new rules say dogs are allowed off-leash around Eagle Pond, but they must be leashed in parking lots and on trails.
This week, state Department of Conservation and Recreation spokeswoman Vanessa Gulati said state park rules have always said animals, including dogs, must be on a leash or tether no longer than 10 feet. She said parks lately, as they did in 1996 and 2002, have been trying to make visitors aware of the rules.
"We're doing this to respond to some complaints that we've had at some of the parks," said Gulati. "We're trying to make an effort to make sure the regulations are followed."
Still, some pet owners, like Joel Feingold of Framingham, said the rule requiring leashes at all times has never been clear to them.
"The standard at Callahan has always been off-leash everywhere," said Feingold, a dog owner. "People are having something taken away from them that's a vital part of their daily life."
Sarah Hill of the Southborough dog-walking business FitPet is circulating a petition to make Callahan all off-leash, while Julia Dixon Eddy on her Web site www.k9parks.com is calling for all to lobby their legislators to support allowing dogs to go free.
Callahan's Eagle Pond area is one spot that officials are discussing to allow dogs to roam free, Gulati said. The parks are trying to strike a balance between its human and animal visitors.
"The practicality of it, in Callahan and other state parks, is that there are just too many acres to actually enforce it," said Gulati.
For example, Callahan State Park has 820 total acres and Hopkinton State Park, which spans Hopkinton and Ashland, has 1,450 acres.
Feingold said in the last 12 years he has been using Callahan State Park, he has never heard of a problem with dogs physically accosting someone. About three years ago, officials cleaned up a poop problem, he said. He believes some recent concerns have come from park neighbors who have had dogs wandering into their yards.
"I think it's in much better shape now than in the past," said Feingold.
Anyone who wants to send suggestions for how state parks should create a balance between pets and visitors is invited to contact Regional Director Susan Hamilton at P.O. Box 829, 817 Lowell St., Carlisle, MA 01741.
(Theresa Freeman can be reached at 508-626-3919 or tfreeman@cnc.com.)
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