Where dogs run free
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WITH DOGS having been domesticated for at least 14,000 years, people ought to have figured out how to deal with canine-human interactions. But there’s friction in the relationship, and in the Boston area, one park in Newton is the flashpoint. The solution to the problem is more controlled freedom for dogs, not less.
Before the nine-month Newton experiment began in March, all of the city’s 2,558 registered canines (and who knows how many unregistered) were supposed to be kept on leash. But it was an open secret that dog owners exercised their dogs off leash in certain parks. The Parks and Recreation Commission, at dog owners’ request, opened up one section of Cold Spring Park to legitimize and control this activity.
Word got around, and dog owners flocked to the park, clogging side streets with cars. Some dogs were let off leash prematurely and pooped in neighbors’ backyards. Dog owners paid for signs listing off-leash rules, but they weren’t put up for a couple of months. Even though the city has just imposed parking restrictions, some neighbors want the commission to end the off-leash experiment when it meets today.
The GreenDog program in Brookline offers a better model. Starting in 2004, 15 parks throughout the town were opened to dogs at specified times. One park and a section of another were taken off the list when off-leash roaming didn’t mesh with other activities. The town thought so highly of the program that it has been extended indefinitely. Newton needs more off-leash areas to reduce the pressure on Cold Spring Park.
At the commission hearing today, an advisory committee will propose off-leash areas at two more parks. That’s an improvement, but still doesn’t satisfy the need. Dog owners need to come up with sites for several more off-leash areas, and make a commitment to put up signage and self-police the sites.
In Boston, which has only a few off-leash areas, a group in Dorchester is working to set up a dog run in Ronan Park. Cambridge plans to open three new off-leash areas by early next month. (Regrettably, these will be for Cambridge dogs only.) Arlington last May narrowly turned down a plan similar to Brookline’s, but the trend in the Boston area is to allow dogs to run off-leash under carefully defined conditions.
Dogs can be messy or unruly, but that’s been true since they first sniffed around humans’ garbage piles thousands of years ago. As prehistoric people discovered, they can also be tamed and controlled. If owners train themselves to watch and clean up after their pets, open space in Newton and anywhere else can be friendly to people and canines alike.
