Arlington Dog Owners Group

Unleashed, pooches and their human pals have more in common than you’d think By Matthew Gilbert Globe Staff / May 31, 2011 (Note from SRD:  I loved this article (thanks to Brenda Kokubo for passing it on)!  It so clearly describes why we get up each morning, put on our grungiest sweatpants, and escort our [...]

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Last spring, Arlington Town Meeting passed a substitute motion sponsored by A-DOG Town Meeting Members. This bylaw change, now taking effect, allows dogs off leash, under owner control, in parks under Parks and Recreation Commission authority. Certain areas are excluded, including parks right next to school buildings, near playground equipment, and any other site by [...]

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Introductory commentary by Susan Doctrow of A-DOG: David Monahan, a member of FellsDOG and a MassDOG colleague, has written a very well-researched, thoughtful letter to the DCR regarding off-leash recreation at the Middlesex Fells that we present here with David’s permission. This includes a rebuttal of erroneously cited research that has been used to exaggerate [...]

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As Town Meeting considers Article 36, to amend the bylaws to allow off-leash recreation under certain conditions, several letters in support of off-leash recreation were published in the April 29 Arlington Advocate. (All letters on this topic from two most recent editions were reprinted in their entirety. This consists of twelve letters supporting off-leash recreation [...]

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A Substitute Motion on Article 36 was submitted to Town Meeting, along with a supporting report written by a few of the (ever-increasing!) number of A-DOG members who are elected Town Meeting Members. It is expected to come up for a vote as early as May 3. The Report, including the text of the Substitute [...]

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The following proposed vote for Article 36 was presented by A-DOG representatives to the Arlington Board of Selectmen on March 22 at about 10 pm: The  signers of Article 36 are proposing the following wording:. VOTED: To amend Section 8 (“Animal Control”) of Article 1 (“Use of Areas under Control of Park Department”) of Title [...]

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(Photo by Scott Goldberg of AM DEW Photos, Lexington) (editorial Intro by S. Doctrow)  As many of you know, unlike Arlington, Lexington enjoys a modern leash bylaw, whereby dogs are allowed off leash under owner control.  One of the favorite recreational spots for dog owners from Lexington, as well as surrounding towns including ours, is [...]

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Our fellow member Briana Flynn wrote to us recently to ask that we help spread the word about a holiday pet drive she and her family are planning.  They are collecting donated items needed by local shelters.  Please contact Briana at <petdonations@yahoo.com> to ask how you can help.  Their flyer is reprinted below to give [...]

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Many of you may recall that A-DOG sponsored a very successful screening of Prison Pups in April, 2008. Here’s another chance to see it and to support an excellent cause. And, please be so kind as to forward this information to everyone you think might be interested! On Wednesday, October 21, 2009, at 7 p.m. [...]

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Our A-DOG team had a wonderful day at the MSPCA Walk for Animals on Sunday, September 13 at the Boston Common.  This event was such fun! More important, it did so much to help the MSPCA, with at least a thousand dogs and owners participating, and approximately $300,000 raised. Our A-DOG team joined forces with [...]

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We thought it would be interesting to print a selection of publicly available commentary by residents of Arlington concerning the recent discussion of the Green Dog plan. What follows are unedited letters to the editor that originally appeared in the Arlington Advocate, as well as online responses from readers writing in on the newspaper’s blog. [...]

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Copyright 2008 – 2012, Arlington Dog Owners Group, all rights reserved Join the A-DOG group on Facebook, just for fun and to stick together! If you’re not a member, please join A-DOG today!: Join A-DOG online or by mail, by clicking the appropriate link at the right of our webpage.  Annual memberships run from April [...]

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A message to responsible dog owners from A-DOG member Everett Shorey: The Green Dog group in Arlington has clearly done a lot of work, thinking and hard bargaining to come up with a proposal for off-leash dog areas in and around Arlington. I listened to their presentation at the Selectman’s meeting the other day and [...]

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The Green Dog program is being planned by a town committee including Leslie Mayer (Chairman of Parks and Recreation), Clarissa Rowe (Chairman, Board of Selectmen), and Joe Connelly (Director of Recreation). The Conservation Commission, Public Health, and Animal Control have also been involved in the program. This group is developing a pilot plan to allow [...]

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by Iain Miller Arlington resident and A-DOG member Recently Published in the Arlington Advocate (Week of November 6, 2008): “The Editor, I applaud Leslie Mayer and her town committee for their continued efforts to advance the Green Dog program, with town meetings on this topic scheduled to begin again from November 6. The Green Dog [...]

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These are short notices of interest that have been moved from the top of our website: Our Annual Meeting was held on Tuesday, September 30 at the Community Safety Building (the Arlington Police Department headquarters) on Mystic Street, Arlington. Click here to read the Annual Report. It will also be available as a pdf file [...]

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A-DOG obtained permission to reprint this article in order to inform our members about the movement in our state to ban the pet “rental” practices of companies such as FlexPetz. FlexPetz had planned to open for business in the Boston area. (A press release from the Humane Society of the United States, reprinted with permission.) [...]

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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. [...]

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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 [...]

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