The
Lexington Minutman
Keep
woods dog-friendly
http://www.wickedlocal.com/lexington/news/opinions/letters/x366046492/Keep-woods-dog-friendly
By
Martha Daileanes-Sevigny/Kendall Road
Posted Oct 08, 2009
@ 05:17 AM
Lexington —
As a dog owner who frequents
Willards Woods, I am strongly in favor of keeping the area off leash and dog
friendly.
I can’t stress how
beneficial those woods have been in the rehabilitation of my own rescue dog.
However, I think that there are improvements that can be made that will make
the area a better place for both dogs and people alike.
My family frequently
vacations in Kennebunk, Maine, a community not unlike Lexington that has
dog-friendly beaches. There are several steps that have been put in place there
to ensure that the area is kept clean and usable.
Several of these
steps would be of benefit if implemented at Willards Woods. They are as
follows:
Waste There are several areas to obtain and dispose of waste bags. At Willards,
there are only three places along the outer perimeter to dispose of waste. None
of these are central or convenient. I often walk at least a half-mile holding a
bag of my dog’s waste.
By having two
stations centrally located inside the woods for both receipt and disposal of
waste bags, much more waste would be picked up. The small cost this would pose
to the town could be mitigated by having higher dog licensing fees or an
optional annual donation by those who frequent the woods.
In/out
on leash Dogs need to be on leash entering and
exiting the area. If all dog owners did this at Willards, there would be no
errant chasing of dogs through abutters yards, which is unacceptable. This is
especially important at the Brent Road entrance where there is no parking lot
or corridor to the woods.
Volunteer
monitors There are always a few volunteers helping to
make sure that people are following the rules. For most people, knowing that
there is someone monitoring the area would make them more likely to comply.
As someone who
goes there daily, I would also like to point out that the great majority of dog
owners that I have encountered are extremely responsible when it comes to the
issues presented above.
Almost all of us
carry waste bags and are vigilant about picking up after our dogs and
enter/exit on leash.
I would hate to see
so many good dogs penalized because of a few irresponsible owners. I strongly
urge the Conservation Commission to keep the woods off leash and dog friendly
with the implementation of the aforementioned items.