Dogs aren't allowed at the Barrington Beach. The dog park is full of poop and aggressive dogs!

Bad poll. Bad, bad poll.

The beach is not an option. The sign says so & so do the ordinances. There is a “leash law” ordinance too. And a “pick up” ordinance. With good reason.

No matter.
The dogs are aggressive. The owners are worse.
Some owners take their dogs to the beach regularly. Off the leash.
Dogs poop on the sand where the little kids dig. Owners don’t always pick it up.
Dogs urinate on the sand where the little kids play. Owners pretend they don’t notice.

Owners let their dogs shake muddy water onto other folks on the beach. Owners allow their dogs to jump up on folks. What's a little claw mark on the skin? Everyone LOVES a muddy pup, right?

Woe to he who asks the dog owner to be responsible.
“So call a cop!”, they yell.
“What are you ….the POLICE?!”, they challenge indignantly.
“Show me your BADGE!”, barked one owner.

Best-in-show retort: “Maybe YOU should MAKE FRIENDS with my dog!”
Oh. Sure. It’s not his fault. Maybe take Fido to lunch. Get to know him.
Uh…what’s his calendar look like for Thursday?

These owners may be smart & nice in “real life”. Maybe one is, oh, say, a psychiatrist. But what would he tell his patients? “Don’t show respect for the law unless you’re caught”? And, “If you are caught, yell sarcastic things”?

Some silly, selfish dog owners sport a lack of respect for the ordinances & an unsophisticated lack of understanding of the good reasons for the ordinances.

I used to walk our leashed dog at some of the places listed above, but through that, came to realize most thankless job in town - the Animal control officer. Each of the 3 locations above could support its own Animal Control office to take care of all the violations of the town-wide leash law. The beach violators the most egregious violators - Fido needs to run, Fido loves to swim, so let's play cat and mouse with the one Animal Control Officer we have who can't be in multiple places at same time. Sadly, MW, people don't see taking their dog to a beach as contributing to a public health issue - when dogs run wild, beaches become giant litter boxes. Dog park is good - for well behaved dogs. (Note to Dog Park Commitee - there should be a small section of the park set aside for small dogs to avoid the problem they had there a couple of years ago.) Dog park go-ers need to be vigilant about their own pet's tolerance levels and behavior, and should pick up the poop - they even supply free bags - or will we be going plastic bag-less there too? Maybe so, but that's ok - I'll just get more plastic bags when I do my shopping in Seekonk ....ah, unintended the ripple effect....