Man’s best friend has spurred a debate amongst neighbors about what rules or regulations should govern canines in one town’s parks.
The New Scotland Town Board heard from residents concerned about what rules do or don’t apply to dogs in the town’s Stephen P. Wallace Park off Swift Road at a Wednesday, June 12, meeting.
There are disputes over interpretation of the town’s “Dog Control Law.” The Parks and Recreation regulations have left town officials enforcing some form of a leash policy, but this isn’t clearly stated in the town code. Officials are looking to end the debate and clarify the rules.
Mimi Weber, who lives off Swift Road, said she enjoys jogging through Wallace Park, but over the last several months she has been “approached significantly” by dogs that are not leashed that make her feel unsafe. Weber said the owners of the dogs “don’t take it seriously” and she has felt harassed by some dog owners.
“Your own rules state that dogs aren’t allowed in the recreational part of the park, so I am only asking you to enforce your own rules,” Weber said. “It is a big situation and I think it is only going to get worse.”
Weber said the incidents with dogs primarily occur on the trails throughout the park.
“It is a beautiful place to be,” she said, “but unfortunately the only people who can enjoy those trails now are dog owners with their unleashed dogs because it is unsafe for everyone else.”
The town’s local law states dogs cannot “run at large” unless leashed or “accompanied by its owner or responsible person,” and must be “under full control.” The regulations for town parks state animals cannot be in a park’s “recreational areas.”
Resident Saul Abrams said he has walked his dog in the town park for more than 10 years and he has “never seen a dog aggressively approach” joggers. He also claims to have only seen Weber in the park once while he was at it.
“Obviously, if the owners are not taking you seriously that is a problem, but most of the people that walk their dogs in the park are doing it at a time of day when there are no joggers,” Abrams said. “I know of no dogs that I have ever walked with that have aggressively approached people.”
Abrams said the town law only requires dogs to be under control while in the park, which doesn’t necessarily mean on a leash. He said he walks his dog without a leash along the trails in the park.
He also contested recreational areas only apply to designated activity spots like baseball fields.
“The purpose of having a natural park is to allow dogs to run free. Dogs need exercise. They need to be able to walk through the woods and smell the trees and bushes,” Abrams said. “There has to be an accommodation for both the joggers and the dog walkers.”
Joe Flynn, who said he has raised and bred show dogs, said he never allows a dog to run unleashed. Flynn said there are several reasons for keeping a dog leashed, such as protecting a dog from animals with rabies or stopping it from chasing a deer.
“Allowing a dog off a leash is just something that is going to come back and bite you,” Flynn said.
Town Justice Margaret Adkins attended the meeting and said several years ago there was a sign that said no dogs where allowed, but then the sign was removed and “there was an assumption that dogs where allowed in the park.”
Adkins said she believed there was a sign stating dogs must be on a leash, which Abrams confirmed, but Abrams pointed back to the town code saying dogs must be under control.
Town Supervisor Tom Dolin said there is “some confusion” over what the law means.
“We are going to have to clarify all of this,” Dolin said. “We are going to have to come up with a new policy, review or reaffirm the current policy.”
Dolin said a future Town Board meeting would go into further discussions between board members over the policy. It is likely a proposed local law would be drafted, which would require a public hearing to be held before its passage.
Dolin said he has owned dogs, but a dog has also bitten him three times.
“Dogs do bite people, so people have reason to be afraid of them unless they know them or they’re on a leash,” Dolin said.