NOTE: This was sent to Delia Kaye on July 25 and was part of an ongoing discussion we were engaged in.
Dear Delia,
I’m glad to hear that you are now considering other options besides just leash laws. I am more than happy to spread the word and let the many concerned dog owners know. Your posting on our petition is one good way to get this information out, but perhaps you should make some sort of announcement at the next NRC meeting? As you know, over 1000 people will see your post, but it would be good to hear the specific details at our next meeting. As you can imagine, I get a number of inquiries as to what is going on, so I would like to be able to give out accurate and current information.
Since it was only last week that you mentioned this “range of options”, my main concern has been letting people know about your initial proposal and the potential loss of these conservation lands for off leash use. To that end, we have organized a committee to meet, discuss and address these issues, collected over 1000 signatures (with commentary), created a website where information and guidelines can be presented, made a Facebook page to notify residents of upcoming meetings and sent out over 1300 letters to inform the town’s licensed dog owners. All of this at our own expense. And although it may appear that we are just saying, “NO”, we are actually trying to do much more, and change dog owners behavior. We hear your concerns and respect the rights of other users.
One of our biggest goals, is to educate the public about these issues that you and the NRC have identified and to help remedy them in whatever ways possible. In regards to dog waste, we have made several suggestions about waste disposal and providing receptacles. We even have a resident with a generous offer to endow a fund for this. Myself and many others are more than willing to help. We have dozens of names of people who would like to volunteer and serve as ambassadors in the conservation areas, so that we can ensure that proper etiquette is being followed. I believe someone even mentioned this at our last meeting, referencing “an army of people willing to patrol and promote good dog ownership.”
To some extent, I think you may already be seeing some positive results. Jay Vogt, my friend who penned the piece in the Globe in favor of leash restrictions, just wrote to tell me last week:
“The last two or three times I have been running the dog owners I’ve encountered have been super respectful.
They either had their dog on leash, or brought them physically to the side in a calming way, or had voice command.
I’ve thanked each and every one, believe me, it’s been thrilling, like they all got the memo.”
Clearly this is a charged and emotional issue. The many letters that I have seen are people expressing a real concern for something that they hold dear. It is a way of life for them and they are upset seeing it threatened. For the most part, they have been very respectful and from day one, I have been promoting a civil and productive discussion. My latest petition post again calls for rational and constructive commentary. Unfortunately, I think you have to expect some degree of negative feedback, but with better communication, listening to each other and working together, I think we can reach a reasonable and peaceful conclusion.
Thank you for your continued efforts and I look forward to discussing this more in the upcoming meetings.
Best,
Jeff