In the ongoing debate about a leash law and beach access by dogs at Scarborough’s beaches the argument of the anti-leash law folks has been narrowed to several points: the single incidence of a piping plover death, the historical precedence of lack of a leash law, and the rights of dog owners with the implication by some that those who are for a leash law are anti-dog. I think that there are other viewpoints worthy of consideration.

While the piping plover issue is paramount in my mind (and not just because of its protected and endangered status), I believe the people issue should be at the forefront of any discussion or at least of equal importance. Having owned many dogs in the past I always knew that my love of my dogs was not always and not often shared by my friends, neighbors, and especially strangers; they were my dogs alone. As owners we are responsible for our dogs and their actions, as it should be. Having control of dogs to prevent them from biting or jumping up on others, from taking food from people’s picnics, from urinating or defecating where people and their children regularly play is the duty of a responsible owner. Dogs don’t know the rules of good manners and dogs probably don’t look at all people the way that they do their masters either.

Dogs do have the right under law to be treated in a humane manner by people but they are not accorded special privileges. In other words their rights are not being impinged by laws meant to protect people from irresponsible owners. And the owners of dogs are not accorded any special privileges just because they are dog owners especially if those of their fellow citizens are at odds with the dogs.

I’ve found the “voice control” issue to be rather puzzling as well. With the pounding surf at waterline or even some distance away a dog would have to be very close to its owner to be under voice control. Probably leash length? If you have to raise your voice to talk to someone at the beach to be heard or have them speak up to hear, it would stand to reason that a dog 10 yards or more away from its owner is going to have a difficult time being under voice control with the competing surf.

Now, who presently or historically is policing the behavior of dogs and their owners on Scarborough’s beaches? The owners? The town? It would appear to be no one. And it would appear that there needs to be either an enforceable law that the taxpayers are willing to fund or to do away with the law itself. But in any instance if the town willingly and willfully allows a public space to have dogs running loose then, not just the owners of the dogs but the town itself, may be held liable for the actions of a dog that harms another on a public beach.

It shouldn’t need to be said again but even though the plovers are victims of other predators, as are most wildlife, in the most recent instance a dog and its negligent owner were responsible for the death of a protected species. I and many others feel that that is enough to warrant some real changes to prevent this from being a continuing problem. For me, doing nothing or burying my head in the Pine Point sand is not an option.

Tom Sheffield

Scarborough