DogBoston’s Dog Blog

Sorry for the provocative title… But there is an important meeting coming up Dec 5th that I would like to encourage you to attend. NOW is the time for you to become an activist if you’ve never been one before.

Background: The Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation is in the process of revising their park regulations. Local dog owner groups are concerned that the DCR will establish a blanket policy requiring that dogs be on leash on DCR properties. We are asking that the DCR include in the regulations a provision for off-leash recreation in designated areas.

Dog owners who enjoy off-leash recreation (or would like to be able to do so legally) at any DCR parks–e.g. the Alewife Brook Reservation (Cambridge, Somerville), the Charles River Reservation (Cambridge, Boston), Sheep Fold at the Middlesex Fells (Malden, Medford, Stoneham, Melrose, Winchester), etc–must act now to secure off-leash privileges at our parks. Callahan State Park is an 820-acre park located in Northwest Framingham. Park uses come from many different cities and towns to exercise and socialize their dogs off-leash there.

The Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) is holding a public meeting Tuesday evening, December 5, at 7:00 in the Lower Level Meeting Room in Framingham Town Hall, 150 Concord Street, Framingham, MA (http://www.mass.gov/dcr/news/pm12-5.pdf).

A strong turnout of Massachusetts dog owners at the the public meeting will greatly advance the cause of off-leash recreation at DCR parks in all our communities.