Organization seeks people interested in working on dog activity issues

The Friends of Blackstone & Franklin Squares seek people interested in joining our dog committee. We have discussed at length how to approach dog issues for the parks. To be clear, dogs off leash are technically illegal. But for years, neighbors and city officials have pretty much looked the other way, acknowledging that dog owners have bought much needed eyes and ears to Blackstone from early morning to late at night, making it a safe park.

However, dog activity has created its own set of problems. Last year, the south quadrant of Blackstone was worn down to bare dirt from all the dog activity. Dog owners just moved to another area and the grass was worn down there as well. The Friends were quoted about $40,000 - $60,000 to reseed the square. We can't afford that. There are numerous deep holes throughout the park. And hair from dogs swimming in the fountain have regularly clogged the drain, increasing maintenance costs. Numerous people have complained about stepping on dog poop or being accosted by unsupervised dogs. All it takes is a few vocal upset neighbors to complain and the (technically illegal) privilege of running dogs off leash could be gone in a flash.

In fact, just this month, the Parks Department banned off leash dogs in a park in Jamaica Plain that had long been used as an unofficial off leash dog area. Thus, it's imperative that the community of responsible dog owners be vigilant to ensure that a few bad apples don't ruin it for everyone else. If you are interested in being a part of a dog committee of Friends, representing your community in finding solutions to these issues, please contact us at friends@blackstonefranklin.org.