Backyard and Beyond

Won’t you please help these dogs find new homes with responsible pet owners?Just a small sampling of unleashed dogs in Prospect Park. Some humans continue to flaunt the common sense rules about keeping dogs leashed in all parts of the park except for the Long Meadow, Nethermead, and Peninsula during off-leash hours (9pm-1am & 5am-9am). All parts of the park means those sections between off-leash zones, too. Now, I know these rules are a little confusing, but the good people at FIDO explain it in dog-talk.

Considering that the Long Meadow, in particular, is 3/4s mile of romping room, and so probably the largest dog run in the city, taking more is pure selfishness. The city fine for an unleashed dog is $100, but there is little evidence of enforcement, which is a pity, since we need the money.

So what are the problems? There’s safety, of course. Last month, an 80-year-old woman was attacked by two dogs. It’s pretty inevitable that a child will be set upon one day. Loose dogs also destroy habitat and animals. While kills are probably not all that common, dogs do frighten the wild things away, and this kind of stress makes already difficult animal lives harder. Additionally, with rabies always a threat, anybody who has an unleashed dog in the woodlands is a threat to public health. Finally, as a bird watcher, I’ve had many a morning ruined by loose dogs flushing everything away. And you wonder why I don’t give you a hearty good morning, neighbor.