Leash Lawlessnes

In May 2oo7, to the delight of Manhattan’s dog owners, Commissioner Adrian Benepe declared that dogs can legally be off their leashes in Central Park every day from 9 pm until 9 am. While this has been a boon to Manhattan’s dog owners it has been a disaster for Central Park wildlife. Dogs are not permitted off leash in the “Forever Wild” areas of the Ramble and North Woods but these restrictions have been pretty much ignored as every day more and more dogs tear through the underbrush of these protected areas, their owners undeterred by the threat of a ticket and fine.

That’s because the threat of receiving a ticket for having a dog off the leash in these areas is nearly non-existent. I have rarely, if ever, seen a Park Enforcement Officer in these areas. The PEP boys (and girls) do not patrol areas where their vehicles will not got. Unfortunately the only way to patrol these areas is on foot so the leash laws go unenforced.

Where there are dogs tearing through the underbrush there are no birds. Birds scatter as quickly as leaves in the wind when Fido comes bounding through. For the first time in recent memory I found no Woodcocks in the North Woods this spring, most probably because these birds are serious ground feeders that don't stand a chance against leashless dogs. On my daily search for birds to photograph I am constantly forced to stop and wait until the birds return (if they ever do at all) after a dog has run leashless through the area.

I wish that dog owners had the good sense to observe the law but as I must sadly report, I counted over 15 leashless dogs in the Ravine and North Woods last Sunday morning. These are areas where dogs must always be on a leash (at least according to the written rules.) I have also observed that dog owners get seriously confrontational when you ask them to leash their dogs in the Forever Wild areas. Many have said to me the don't have to because the law says their dogs can run free from 9 pm to 9 am.

Central Park was once considered one of the top ten birding spots in the country. If the city does not start enforcing the leash laws in Central Park’s protected areas, the park’s reputation as a serious spot for birding will rapidly decline. I don't think I am asking forall that much. Central Park is over 800 acres and all I am asking of dog owners is to give us a small percentage of that for the birds.

Lest you think I am some sort of dog hater, nothing could be further from the truth. I like dogs. I like cats, too. I had dogs growing-up and I have three cats I rescued from the street now sharing my apartment.

I agree with former Poet Laurate Billy Collins that dogs are probably smarter than humans:

The Revenant by Billy Collins

I am the dog you put to sleep,
as you like to call the needle of oblivion,
come back to tell you this simple thing:
I never liked you--not one bit.

When I licked your face,
I thought of biting off your nose.
When I watched you toweling yourself dry,
I wanted to leap and unman you with a snap.

I resented the way you moved,
your lack of animal grace,
the way you would sit in a chair and eat,
a napkin on your lap, knife in your hand.

I would have run away,
but I was too weak, a trick you taught me
while I was learning to sit and heel,
and--greatest of insults--shake hands without a hand.

I admit the sight of the leash
would excite me
but only because it meant I was about
to smell things you had never touched.

You do not want to believe this,
but I have no reason to lie.
I hated the car, the rubber toys,
disliked your friends and, worse, your relatives.

The jingling of my tags drove me mad.
You always scratched me in the wrong place.
All I ever wanted from you
was food and fresh water in my metal bowls.

While you slept, I watched you breathe
as the moon rose in the sky.
It took all my strength
not to raise my head and howl.

Now I am free of the collar,
the yellow raincoat, monogrammed sweater,
the absurdity of your lawn,
and that is all you need to know about this place

except what you already supposed
and are glad it did not happen sooner--
that everyone here can read and write,
the dogs in poetry, the cats and the others in prose.