I had an incident happen to me the other day on the beach, which I would love to say is not the norm. However, this year, 6 out of 7 days, you are approach by uncontrolled dogs on York Maine Beaches, where you can barely make out the owners (because they are no where near their dogs, and far off in the distance). The owners meanwhile could care less what their dog might be doing as they chat, and drink their coffee. In the last few months I have seen two dogs run into the middle of the road or go up to the sidewalk to the road unattended, dogs have slammed into me and my dogs who are in command, dogs are peeing on beach chairs, stealing packed lunches, ET.
BUT I WANT TO BE CLEAR HERE, IT'S NOT THE DOGS. As I explained to a very rude owner the other day, "it's not your dog, but it is his owner". The fact that this guy felt it was completely appropriate for his dog to be on the beach, unleashed, without any recall for safety or other people's space was shocking. Normally what happens is someone is unaware of the ordinance, you explain it, they apologize or they just apologize because something inappropriate happened (without you needing to explain the ordinance).
That last scenario is fine with me, and doesn't instigate a trip to Animal Control. However, this person did prompt me to make a complaint to our Animal Control officer. He was great and asked how far I would like it to go. I indicated that a warning from an authority figure should suffice, and so it ended there.
We got to chatting though. I like to keep abreast of what is going on here regarding beach laws and dog owners rights. However, as a dog owner, I am also very aware of everyone else's rights around me. Most York ME owners who frequent the beach are the same way. We do not take our accommodations for granted, and we have pride in our dogs and their behavior on the beach.
The officer was talking about why it was so much worse this year. One thing I have noticed, is apparently there has been an adoption binge on puppies this year. The ones training with me, thankfully, can be found being appropriate on the beach. The other owners have the attitude that since their puppy is cute and fuzzy that everyone and everything wants an unprompted greeting from them. This is one problem, but it's sure to be rectified by Animal Control as the year goes on, IF these people are locals.
The problem that the officer was explaining to me of the increased dogs, whose owners apparently take zero responsibility for their safety or the safety and well being of others, is that places like Eliot and Kittery finally had enough and banned dogs from their beaches. Apparently, we are attracting (as well as the tourists from out of state that come here every year and could care less about the ordinances) the very owners that ruined the beaches in their communities. Yeah!!
With only two on staff to take care of these problems, and remember these aren't just on the beach but everywhere within our town, officers just can't sit on the beach for eight hours waiting to catch the perpetrators. I have noticed that quite a few of the local dog owners that have had dogs here for awhile, must have been approached by Animal Control, and are so taking their privileges and responsibility very seriously. That has been great. The thing with this new problem is that you never know WHO is on the other end of the dog. For instance, the family involved with this incident was no stranger to York Police in other altercations. Fantastic. So now you have your own safety to be worried about, because someone could not care at all about the rights of others to enjoy a public beach.
Swell.
Would you like your dog to act appropriate in public? Call Maine Dog Trainer, Robin Rubin, at 207-361-4395. Mannerly Mutts Dog Training provides Maine Dog Training needs. You can also e-mail mannerly_mutt@yahoo.com with any questions. Our website, http://www.mannerlymutts.com, will answer many of your fee, service, FAQs, and qualification questions.
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