ArlingtonDogOwners.org

(Left to right) Commissioner Kathleen Dennehy, Bristol County Sheriff’s office volunteers Deputy Robert Clavin, Major Laura Brook and Deputy Paul Douglas, with Shine, Superintendent Lynn Bissonnette, and film maker Alice Bouvrie (all photos by Roslyn Smith)

by Sue Doctrow on behalf of A-DOG board

A-DOG’s screening of Prison Pups on May 22 at the Regent was a great success, with over 150 humans, and a few lovely service dogs, coming out on a rainy evening to join us. We were able to raise funds for our organization, as well as to enable A-DOG to send a contribution to NEADS. In addition, we believe that several attendees were so moved by the film that they made private contributions to NEADS with the envelopes provided on site.  (For those who haven’t read the previous May, 2008 post on this, please do so to learn more, but here is a summary.  NEADS is a Princeton, MA based organization dedicated to training dogs to assist the disabled and hearing impaired.  Prison Pups is an award winning documentary film that follows four inmates of a local minimum security prison as they participate in a program to train dogs in basic obedience in preparation for their advancement through the NEADS training program.)

We want to thank our special guests who volunteered their time to make this evening the success that it was. None of this would have been possible without the generosity of Arlington film maker Alice Bouvrie, who not only shared her film with us, but also participated in a very informative discussion with the audience and other guests. We’re also most grateful to Kathleen Dennehy, former Correction Commissioner of Massachusetts, for her truly riveting talk introducing the film and describing how the training program benefits not only the clients who will receive these NEADS service dogs, but also the inmates themselves who found so much satisfaction through their work, and the bonds they formed, with their canine charges. These themes were echoed by the remarks of Lynn Bissonnette, MCI Framingham Superintendent who described her own experiences with the challenges and benefits of this program. We also are most grateful to volunteers from the Bristol County Sheriff’s office who made the long trip from North Dartmouth to appear and provide their own insights, and to introduce us to the beautiful yellow lab Shine. These include Major Laura Brook, administrator of the women’s unit, and K9 Officers Deputy Paul Douglas and Deputy Robert Clavin. There were other volunteers in the audience, including those who brought NEADS dogs in training. If anybody can identify volunteers that we’ve not named, please do so in the comments section so that they can be properly acknowledged.

In addition, we are most grateful to the businesses who so generously donated gifts for our door prizes. These are, in no particular order: Go-Play (Arlington), Starbucks (Arlington Heights), Lakota Bakery (Arlington Heights), Animal Spirit (Cambridge), Trader Joe’s (Arlington Heights), Dogma and Catma Too! (Somerville), AcmeCouture handcrafted doggy apparel (Lincoln), and Bonprise Designs handcrafted jewelry (Arlington). We thank the Regent Theatre, too, for making their venue and their friendly staff available to us at a nonprofit discount.

We thank our A-DOG family member, Michael Ruderman, for serving — with his usual poise and wit — as our Master of Ceremonies. We are very grateful to our sister organization SomDog of Somerville, for helping us to promote the screening. We have so appreciated the advice and encouragement of SomDog’s Lisa McFarren and were delighted to see Lisa and her husband Justin at the event. And, finally, we thank all of you who attended our screening and appreciate your interest in this topic and your support of A-DOG and NEADS.

Several people have told us that they were unable to attend this screening, but that they’d love to see Prison Pups. The A-DOG board has voted to buy the licensed copy of the film to sponsor future showings at smaller community sites, perhaps in collaboration with dogowners organizations in other communities. Stay tuned for announcements of these events!

by Christine A, Dorchak, Esq.
President, GREY2K USA
Co-Chairperson, Committee to Protect Dogs

(shown here with her Zoe)

Starz Voice was a two-year old white and red fawn greyhound who spent her short life racing for profit. Before her untimely death, she lived at a commercial racetrack and endured a life of nearly endless confinement. Along with hundreds of other dogs, she was kept in a small cage barely large enough for her to stand up or turn around for 20 or more hours per day.

On a clear, June day last year Starz Voice competed in her final race. After colliding with other dogs in the first turn, she broke multiple bones in her right front leg and was euthanized.

Sadly, her story is not unique. Since 2002, more than 800 greyhounds have been injured while racing in Massachusetts, including dogs that suffered broken legs, paralysis, and death from cardiac arrest.

The good news is that this cruelty may soon end. This November, voters will have a chance to Vote Yes on the Greyhound Protection Act, a citizens initiative to phase out commercial dog racing by 2010. This important humane proposal is supported by the oldest and most respected animal protection groups in the state, including the MSPCA, the Humane Society of the United States and greyhound protection group GREY2K USA.

If you would like to volunteer for this important effort, please contact me at christine@protectdogs.org or call 617-666-3526. Also, to learn more about the Greyhound Protection Act and view a slide show of photographs from Wonderland Greyhound Park, go to www.protectdogs.org.

Together, we can win for the dogs!

Christine lives on Lake View Street with her husband Carey and their beloved greyhound, Zoe.

by Donna K. Wren, M.D., FAAP
Arlington Town Meeting Member (Pct 10)

During the debate at Town Meeting over Article 28, which addressed off-leash times at parks in Arlington, many issues were discussed. However, one of the issues which did not get discussed at length was safety. Many people stated emphatically that they didn’t want dogs off leash because it would be a safety hazard to other park users. But no one mentioned appropriate ways to make everyone safer. As a pediatric emergency medicine physician, I have seen my share of children with animal bites, mostly from dogs. In the 12 1/2 years of my experience I do not recall ever treating a child who had sustained a bite from a dog while out in a park or other outdoor recreational setting. My experience has been that children are primarily bitten by their own dog and usually there is some provocation: touching the dog’s food, teasing the dog, or otherwise startling the dog.

I decided to see if medical research supported my observations so I reviewed as many studies as I could find evaluating dog bites with regard to statistics of location, familiarity with the dog, and prevention. By and large, my observations were supported by the literature. Children make up 60% of all dog bite victims. The peak age to be bitten is between 5 and 9 years of age and boys are more likely than girls to be bitten. In every article, it was found that most bites occur on the dog’s property – ranging from 58% to 70% of all bites. Between 77% to 91% of all bite victims (of all ages) knew the dog; most often it was the victim’s dog.

The most striking finding in all these studies was that dog safety education was instrumental in reducing the risk of bites. Education was the single most effective way to prevent injury. The American Academy of Pediatrics strongly supports educational programs teaching dog safety to children – in the schools, in the community, in the doctor’s office, and in the home. Teaching children makes sense as they are statistically most likely to be bitten, but teaching adults, parents, dog owners, and the entire community is best. Even a single short session has been shown to improve safety and decrease risk.

I applaud the efforts of the Green Dog Committee to find a solution to the needs of everyone in the community regarding dogs. It must be stressed that any community program requires education of all members of the community. It would be ideal to have this message available in many different places in our lives: in all the schools, including preschools; in the parks when the Friends of the various parks hold community events; at Town Day; public service announcements on the local access channel; perhaps even a safety video that could be checked out of the library. Parents should consider it something their children need to know, on the same level of importance as traffic, water, fire, stranger, and bike safety. Our family does not have a dog but we encounter dogs in the parks frequently. We use every encounter as a chance to teach our 2 children how to behave and be safe.

As with so many other parts of our lives, education is the key to prevention and reduction of risk. I hope that a community safety education component can be included in the Green Dog Committee’s future plans.

We’re sponsoring the Arlington premiere of Prison Pups, a film by Arlington resident Alice Dungan Bouvrie, on May 22, at 7:30 p.m. at the Regent Theatre. Prison Pups is a behind-the-scenes glimpse into the life of four inmates at New England Correctional Center, a minimum-security facility in Concord, as they raise and train assistance dogs for the NEADS (Dogs for Deaf and Disabled Americans) program based in Princeton, Mass.

By taking on the responsibility of caring for a puppy, the inmates develop self-confidence and the capacity for nurturing and affection. This film, produced in cooperation with WGBH, won Best Documentary Award and has been the official selection at several other festivals.

In addition to a Q&A session with Ms. Bouvrie, the event will include an introduction by Kathleen M. Dennehy, the first woman appointed Commissioner of Correction in Massachusetts. Ms. Dennehy, who served from 2004 to 2007, has been called by one politician, “the best corrections official in the country.” Ms. Dennehy is currently a corrections consultant and is enrolled in a doctoral program in social policy at Brandeis University.

Also available for questions at the event will be Superintendent Lynn Bissonnette of MCI-Framingham who appears in Prison Pups and was instrumental in bringing the prison dog program to Massachusetts. Prison Pups is a natural choice for A-DOG to showcase because the film echoes the group’s guiding principle that relationships with dogs and other companion animals have numerous benefits to individuals of all ages, and to the community at large.

Tickets are available in advance for $8 from the Regent Theatre box office at 7 Medford Street in Arlington Center (call 781-646-4849 or visit their website) or at the door May 22. Proceeds will benefit A-DOG and NEADS.

Arlington Dog Owners Group (A-DOG) Supports the Substitute Motion presented by Michael Ruderman (TMM, Precinct 9), with provisions as summarized:

• To change the 6 ft leash length limit for restraining a dog, enabling use of a leash with length not to exceed twenty (20) ft.
• To allow dogs off leash in Town-owned open spaces between the hours of 7:00 to 9:00 a.m. and 7:00 to 9:00 pm., “provided the owner or keeper of the dog is present and attentive toward the dog and the dog is under effective control. Dogs must, however, be restrained by leash in proximity to a permitted sporting or other event.”

Statement of support:

The current leash bylaw in Arlington was established in the 1960’s. Based on the transcripts from its debate in Town Meeting, as well as on the wording (for example, its provisions for the Animal Control Officer to hold a dog for 10 days until the owner claims him), it was intended to address dogs roaming free without owner supervision, or “at large”. Few, if any, dogs roam “at large” in our town nowadays because dog owning practices have changed. The modern dog owner treats his dog more as a family member, and typically would not consider letting him roam unprotected. As the Arlington bylaw is currently enforced, it prevents dog owners from exercising and socializing their dogs off-leash, even if such activities occur under owner supervision and at times when few others are using the parks. A Green Dog Pilot Program is being developed, with community input, to provide off leash hours, as well as dedicated fenced dog parks, town-wide. While the original goal was to submit this program to Town Meeting this year, this submission has now been delayed, with a new goal of Town Meeting, 2009. While dog parks have been allowed in the bylaws since 2003, there are none yet available. Previous attempts to establish dog parks in Arlington (for example, a dog park proposed at Hill’s Hill in 2005) have been unsuccessful.

The purpose of this Substitute Motion is to make an incremental change to the current leash law enabling responsible dog owners to have some limited opportunity to legally exercise and socialize their dogs, while minimizing impact to the community. We recognize that the proposed schedule will not benefit all dog owners. It is expected that, should a more comprehensive Green Dog plan be adopted by Town Meeting in future years, its provisions would more broadly serve the community. However, until that time comes, this Substitute Motion will provide some relief to the current situation.

Some believe that no action, even an incremental one, should be taken on this issue until the Green Dog committee has completed its work. We respectfully disagree with this position. One year is quite a long time in the developmental life of a dog. Another year of inadequate opportunities for training and socialization can have only a negative impact on individual dogs. This delay also has a negative impact on Arlington dog owners, who are being asked to wait yet one more year before being allowed to legally conduct what is, for many, a favorite recreational activity. The need for legal off-leash recreational opportunities has been recognized by the town and officially discussed for at least 5 years, with no resolution. We believe that a substantive change is long overdue. Respectfully, we ask whether, for example, dedicated softball enthusiasts would tolerate having to suspend their games for an entire season, let alone several years, while details of, for example, a field reconstruction, were being worked out. They would not, nor should they be expected to do so. At the very least, they would likely seek some interim arrangement until the final, presumably perfectly renovated, site was ready. In this case, the Green Dog plan is being touted as representing the best overall solution to the dog/dogowner issue for Arlington. This may very well turn out to be true. But that doesn’t mean that a simpler, less perfect measure would not be of significant value in the interim.

In the Substitute Motion, the limited early morning and evening hours were selected so as to minimize off-leash activity when the parks are more heavily used, for example, by children. The requirement that the owner be present and attentive to the dog means that the law will not allow dogs running “at large” in the parks. The additional requirement that the owner have the dog under “effective control” prevents this law from applying to an untrained or out-of-control dog, even when owner-accompanied.

The Substitute Motion also seeks to amend the current specification of a 6 ft leash. The 6 ft limit prevents owners from using flexible, retractable leads or from teaching their dogs off-leash “recall” using modern obedience training methods, including those advising a training lead of 20 to 30 feet (Miller, Pat, 2001, The Power of Positive Dog Training). The Substitute Motion is intended to relieve this restriction. The proposed 20 feet is the same leash length that is specified by the American Kennel Club (AKC) in its “Canine Good Citizen” certification test (www.akc.org, CGC program).

The proposed changes apply to Town-owned parks and conservation lands only. Dogs would not be allowed off leash on other public property, such as streets and sidewalks or on private property without the property owner’s permission. In addition, bylaws against excessive noise and failure to clean up after ones dog would, of course, remain in force at all times.

In comparison, several local communities (Acton, Bedford, Burlington, Concord, Lexington, Lincoln, Sudbury, Wellesley, and Weston) have bylaws allowing dogs to be unleashed, under owner supervision and control, in public parks without restriction as to hours. Such bylaws refer to “effective command” or its equivalent as a requirement. Others (e.g. Cambridge, Boston, and Somerville) allow dogs to be unleashed in selected location(s), including dedicated dog parks (Boston, Somerville). Brookline has a “Green Dog” system whereby dogs are allowed off leash at certain hours in certain parks and has no dedicated dog parks.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

CONTACT:
Susan Ruderman or Sue Doctrow, Co-Presidents A-DOG (ARLINGTON DOG OWNERS GROUP)
info@arlingtondogowners.org
www.arlingtondogowners.org

A-DOG TAKES SECOND PLACE AT AEEF BRAIN BEE

Arlington, MA–April 18, 2008–The All-Star pack of A. Michael Ruderman, Rich Carreiro, and Judson Pierce led the Arlington Dog Owners Group (A-DOG) to a triumphant second place finish in the Arlington Educational Enrichment Fund¡¦s Brain Bee held on April 13, 2008 at Arlington Town Hall.

In addition to coming in second place behind the returning winning team of Thompson School Pops, the A-DOGs took second place in the Costume Competition for their winning outfits of floppy-eared caps and dog-emblazoned forest green tee-shirts, accessorized by an occasional collar and leash.

A-DOG was a Gold Star Level ($500-$999) Sponsor at this annual event which has helped fund over $190,000 in grants benefiting Arlington¡¦s public school children since 1991.

Twenty-four teams of 3 members each answered 15 trivia questions in 12 different categories ranging from Literature to Geography to the contents of the Arlington Police Log. The mental exercises were capped off by an aeronautical engineering project in which teams competed to see whose paper airplane could fly the farthest in Town Hall.

The Arlington Dog Owners Group (A-DOG) was established earlier this year by a group of concerned dog owners and friends to address issues around dogs and people in Arlington. The group is currently recruiting members, who may sign up on the web site at www.arlingtondogowners.org or call (781) 643-6221 to learn more.

ABOUT A-DOG: In spring 2008, a group of concerned dog owners in Arlington incorporated a new not-for-profit organization, Arlington Dog Owners Group (or A-DOG), to address issues around dogs and people in Arlington. A-DOG’s guiding principles are the following:

• Relationships with dogs and other companion animals have numerous benefits to individuals of all ages, and to the community at large.
• With dog ownership comes responsibility, not only to promote the health and welfare of one’s dog, but also to ensure that one’s dog does not adversely affect the safety of others.

A-DOG’s mission includes:

• Advocating for the rights and interests of Arlington dog owners.
• Promoting responsible dog ownership/custodianship, emphasizing respect for the rights and interests of neighbors and the community and the welfare of our companion animals.
• Educating the community about dog behavior and other factors influencing canine-human interactions.
• Working to promote safe, healthy recreational venues for dogs on- and off-leash in Arlington, enabling responsible dog owners to exercise and socialize their dogs.

The founding officers and directors are Susan R. Doctrow and Susan C. Ruderman (co-presidents); Andrew Fischer; MaryAnna Foskett; Brenda Kokubo; Carrie Moore; Mary Mangan; Ann Smith; Roslyn Smith; and Judy Weinberg.

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Arlington Dog Owners Group, or A-DOG, was organized by a group of concerned dogowners and friends to address issues around dogs and people in Arlington, MA. We incorporated as a new not-for-profit organization in the spring, 2008.

Our guiding principles are:

• Relationships with dogs and other companion animals have numerous benefits to individuals of all ages, and to the community at large.
• With dog ownership comes responsibility, not only to promote the health and welfare of one’s dog, but also to ensure that one’s dog does not adversely affect the safety of others.

A-DOG’s mission includes:

• Advocating for the rights and interests of Arlington dog owners.
• Promoting responsible dog ownership, emphasizing respect for the rights and interests of neighbors and the community and the welfare of our companion animals.
• Educating the community about dog behavior and other factors influencing canine-human interactions.
• Working to promote safe, healthy recreational venues for dogs on- and off-leash in Arlington, enabling responsible dog owners to exercise and socialize their dogs.

Please join us in our inaugural year! Click here for a form that can be printed and mailed to us.

Founding directors: Susan R. Doctrow and Susan C. Ruderman (co-Presidents); Andrew Fischer; MaryAnna Foskett; Brenda Kokubo; Carrie Moore; Mary Mangan; Ann Smith; Roslyn Smith; and Judy Weinberg