July 18, 2008
by Liza Margulies
A small group of dog owners were on hand Tuesday night at the town board’s work session for the latest round of discussions regarding a resolution delineating when dogs may be off-leash in New Castle parks.
While Gedney Park continues to be the main focus of the discussions, when a final resolution is realized, it will affect all of the New Castle parks. The latest revision presented at the Tuesday night work session seeks to ban dogs from the fields entirely. The parks and recreation department’s concern is that dogs actually do more damage to the fields in winter than in summer. The proposed resolution would allow off-leash walking on all the trails year-round.
The impassioned few “dog people” in attendance were in agreement that this seemed a fair resolution, and that there is no real need for the dogs to be on the ball fields as long as they are allowed to run free throughout the trails. While there was consensus regarding the resolution, the dog owners spoke about their growing concern that there has been much anti-dog sentiment of late.
Some dog owners sense anti-dog sentiment
One dog owner stated that with her four children now grown and out of the house, her greatest pleasure is to walk in the park with other folks while their dogs romp and frolic together, enjoying their lives the way canines were meant to enjoy it. She pointed out that dog owners in particular take great care of the New Castle parks, often picking up trash, glass and other debris left behind by other park users.
Another “dog person” also addressed the recent anti-dog sentiments felt by some dog owners, and said that they have been made to feel like criminals lately when all they want to do is enjoy a little time outdoors with man’s best friend. She went on to state that when there are bad children in a playground, you don’t ban all children from the playground. Similarly, when there are inconsiderate or bad drivers on the road, you don’t ban all cars. So it should be with dogs. If there are bad dogs (or, more likely, bad dog owners) let’s not penalize all the dogs.
Dog owners who are concerned about the issue of more restrictive off leash rules are encouraged to attend the next meeting of the parks and recreation commission in order to share their point of view. The parks and recreation commission meets the first Thursday of every month. There is no August meeting; their next meeting is set for September 4, 2008.
Liza Margulies is a dog owner, a psychotherapist and freelance photographer in New Castle.
Copyright 2009 NewCastleNOW.org