Walking Dogs Off-Leash

In my first blog post, I want to address the issue of dogs and their owners being able to walk freely in the local woods. Since it is a natural thing for dog owners to occasionally want to walk their dogs without a leash, many residents of Bedford, NY, are having difficulty with the expanding insistence on enforcing leash laws, or the incidence of dogs being banned altogether. In my childhood, dogs were free to roam the neighborhood, usually in search of food. There was no such thing as an Invisible Fence system, and we rarely needed a leash. Ginger created a well-worn trail from our back door to the neighbor's back door, with a lovely garden in between. No one ever complained about her being off-leash. She was a sweetheart.

But now, people with dogs off-leash are often confronted with extreme hostility--so surprising in local parks that have hiking trails set up specifically for walking the beautiful woods. When you own a dog that needs to run, you're hard pressed to take a hike without including this family member. The conflicts seem to be escalating between those who expect dogs to be leashed and those who believe dogs need to run free, as evidenced by a story that ran on the cover of The New York Times Metropolitan Section on Sunday, February 12, titled "A Yearning for Dogs To Run Free," by Lisa Foderaro. The topic is also a hot one in our local newspaper, with many letters to the editor appearing because another favorite spot for people and their dogs was recently closed off, complete with big, ugly signs and fencing. The Morgenthau Preserve and an adjoining 70-acre property owned by a private individual in Pound Ridge, NY, was a haven for dog-lovers, particularly for dogs who love to swim since there are two lakes in those woods, not to mention a three-hole private golf course. Most of the people we saw there had their dogs along, and everyone seemed to be enjoying the outdoors and the beauty of the scenery.

Does this dog look like he would thrive on a leash?

Suddenly, the Board of Directors of the Morgenthau Preserve decided they would not just enforce the leash law for dogs, but close the preserve to dogs altogether. Ostensibly, this move was to preserve wildlife and flora and fauna. However, the main obstacle to preserving plants in this area is the large deer population. The deer have basically consumed the entire understory of the forest, and new plants cannot take hold. However, the board is blaming loose dogs, not deer, for this development. We feel it's just an excuse, and perhaps property owners adjoining the preserve want to exclude others and have the land to themselves. It's a huge loss for many, and there must be some viable compromise. Both sides of the story need to be heard!