TCDOG Update

Letter published in The Ithaca Journal (Feb. 18, 2005)

We need a safe place to exercise our dogs

My wife and I have walked dogs in the Treman Marina area, formerly known as "the dog park" for over 13 years.

Since leash law enforcement began, our dogs are always -- always -- on leash when we're in the park.

I've seen the park hundreds of times in all seasons and all weathers, and I haven't seen the alleged misbehaviors or environmental destruction which are attributed to dogs in that area.

I realize that doesn't mean there have never been any problems at all. I have heard of a very few incidents of dog aggression against other dogs. One such incident involved one of our own dogs, but that doesn't make dog aggression more commonplace in the Treman area than it is on local streets. I have not heard of documented incidents of aggression against humans in the park.

Dozens of people run unleashed dogs the park almost every day and are not ticketed, yet some people are ticketed repeatedly. What selection process is used?

When ticketing an owner whose dogs are on leash, how do park police know that person had her/his dogs off leash at some previous time? Is this sort of "law enforcement" meant to prevent us from bringing our dogs to the park even when they're leashed?

Since the great majority of people do not train their dogs and do not supervise them well, I'm an advocate of leash laws and of their enforcement. As long as there's a leash law for the marina area, then we'd better keep our dogs on leash now.

However, I also see that for some people, a safe place to exercise dogs off leash is important.

I see unleashed dogs, with and without their owners, on city streets regularly. I'd love to see some consistency in enforcement -- or better yet, a return to tolerance of off-leash dog walking in the marina area.

Bill Hansen
Ithaca

Contact TCDOG at info@tcdog.org.