Unleashed Dogs in Lexington Park

[smoterh.livejournal.com]

I'm posting an open letter (with photos) that I sent to Somerville Aldermen, Mayor and Police Department in regard to unleashed dogs on the Somerville Path, and most recently, inside of Lexington Park.  Those living on or near the path know that almost every afternoon there is a horde of unleashed pets there, despite that a designated off-leash park is only a mile away.

If you think that think that this problem is getting out of hand or have been injured, attacked (like I was) or scared of these dogs, or are just concerned about the safety of our community, I urge you to to support this initiative to get this problem resolved, by writing your Alderman, Mayor or Police Dept.

Ward 5 Alderman, Sean O’Donovan sean@odonovanlaw.com

Ward 6 Alderman, Rebekah Gewirtz info@rebekahgewirtz.org

Mayor of Somerville, Joseph Curtatone mayor@somervillema.gov

Somerville Police Department aide@police.somerville.ma.us

Dear Aldermen, Mayor and Police Dept.

 

Over the past year I’ve been trying to raise awareness about a particular public safety hazard on the Community Path, especially between Willow and Cedar Streets. It should be no surprise that there is a real problem with the amount of unleashed dogs in the area, especially during rush hours.

 

Although I’m grateful to Aldermen and members of the Police Department who have made or encouraged occasional visits to the area to intervene, the fact is that the problem of unleashed dogs is chronic; chronic to a point that everyday, especially during late afternoon, there are about a dozen unleashed dogs that are running amok on the path.  Although this situation has not been contained, this is not the reason for this letter.

 

The real reason is the audacity of irresponsible dog owners, who in the lack of more frequent enforcement of the law, are not only letting their dogs loose on the path, risking the safety of pedestrians and bikers, but also  are starting to bring their unleashed pets into the playground area known as Lexington Park.

 

As a daily user of the path I’ve noticed more and more dogs being let loose in the playground area – while children are present.  I’ve taken several poor photos with my mobile phone (I apologize for the quality) of one instance.  In this particular instance the photos was taken just before the dog ran into the basketball court where 2 boys were playing while the dog started chasing the ball. The kids were frightened and climbed the fence to get away (the owner was present on the playground).  Although the dog probably wanted to play rather than harm, it is still inexcusable behavior and should be prevented.

 

Since the leash laws on the path are rarely enforced, it is to no one’s surprise that such things happen and will continue to happen.  Therefore I urge you for help with this issue, if not for the sake of daily commuters, than for the sake of the kids.

 

I am in no position to ask anything specific of our government or Police Department as I do not know the inner workings of same.  However some suggested action would be:

-more frequent monitoring of the area by Police Dept (especially since an officer can take a look at the situation from their cruiser from either Cedar St, Willow St, or Morrison St parking lot, without getting out of the car)

-issuing of the tickets to when violators are spotted

-strengthening the leash law by increasing fines, or making leash law fines appear on offender’s record.

 

Thank you for your cooperation and here are links to the photos.

http://img35.imageshack.us/img35/8313/dog1c.jpg

http://img35.imageshack.us/img35/1539/dog2g.jpg (best)

http://img35.imageshack.us/img35/5076/dog3k.jpg

 

Sincerely

Hugo Smoter

5 Richardson St., Somerville

Comments

[qwrrty.livejournal.com]

Speaking as a person with a dog *and* kids, I say: WTF?

[sparkgrrl658.livejournal.com]

so...there are schools for the kids in somerville, there should be dog parks for dogs in somerville, is that what you're saying?

because, there is a dog park, as has been pointed out.

[icecreamempress.livejournal.com]

Apparently, the city should pay for buses to the dog park, just like school buses.

[sparkgrrl658.livejournal.com]

the comments to this post are seriously making my brain melt.

i can't walk my dog, my dog doesn't like to ride in the car! but i moved here and bought a dog anyway!

laws are ridiculous, we should do whatever we think is right!

and also, i haven't seen it in this post, but there's a massive contingent of dog owners out there with the 'but my dog is friendly!' mindset. that's great, but my dog isn't. so when your dog runs up to mine and gets nipped, or when a toddler bashes it on the nose with a sippy cup, you can stfu, and leash your damn dog like you're supposed to.

[nomacmac.livejournal.com]

The city doesn't pay for school buses. Dogs will have to find their own transportation.

[sparkgrrl658.livejournal.com]

THIS. (except minus the kid part for me, heh.)

you aren't playing 'devil's advocate', you just aren't making any sense. you can walk your dog pretty much anywhere on leash, or you can go to designated places to allow them off leash. the argument of 'that's not fair, it's far!' is just...fucking ridiculous, i'm sorry.

as a dog owner who recently moved out of a complex that had it's own dog park, i understand shit happens and maybe your current situation isn't as convenient but oh well, that's life. also as a dog owner who moved to a place that doesn't have an actual dog park as close as these people do, it really is appalling and frustrating - people that ruin it for those of us that do follow the rules. then you get people against dog parks because their experience has been dog owners will just let their dog do whtaever it wants regardless.

(and sorry qwrrty you got the bulk of that!)