Town to step up enforcement of leash law

Regen Milani and her sons were taking a walk through the grounds of Pequitside Farm when an unleashed dog jumped on Milani. Having owned dogs and used to being around them, Milani remained calm, but the situation would have been different had the dog jumped on one of her sons.

“My son gets very scared with dogs who jump,” she said.

A trail at Pequitside Farm (Town of Canton photo)

The dog’s owner leashed his dog and then Milani, who is the conservation agent in Canton, handled the situation the same way she does when she comes across unleashed dogs and their owners on town property. She took out her business card, introduced herself to the dog owner, and explained that the town’s Full Time Leash Law requires that all dogs must be leashed when on town property.

“It’s our goal to allow everyone to enjoy the property and we’d like to have everyone pitch in,” she said.

Milani is the agent for the Canton Conservation Commission, a board of seven volunteer members whose responsibility is to protect the ecological integrity of Canton’s wetlands and surrounding landscape. The commission also owns and manages over 400 acres of open space for conservation purposes. The 400 acres include Pequitside Farm, the Earl Newhouse Waterfront property, and Windsor Woods, which abuts the Irish Cultural Centre on one side and the town of Stoughton on the other.

Milani began her new role in November of 2018 and quickly realized something. “It’s obvious that Canton has struggled in the past to enforce the leash law,” she said.

She has seen discussions on social media about the issue and has heard from people who have small children that they want to take for walks on the trails, but are nervous around dogs; some dogs may not be friendly to other dogs. Milani walks around Pequitside regularly and has chats with people and she is planning to post signs at all of the town properties.

“We’ve had a lot of complaints. We’re trying to educate people,” she said. “This is what we’re going to be working on. We’re asking for compliance with the law. People having the current practice of having their dogs off leash disrupts everyone’s ability to enjoy the property.”

Stacy Nee has been the full-time Canton Animal Control officer since 2014. Animal Control is part of the Canton Police Department. Nee said that in 2015, there were many complaints about dogs that were not on leashes. She worked at talking to people about the problem and also issued fines. The situation improved dramatically and in 2018 there were only two complaints about dogs that were off leash. In 2019, however, the number of complaints has increased.

Nee is the person who enforces the leash law. She goes to all three properties when she is not at the animal shelter or taking an animal to the vet or when she receives a call about a dog. She does what Milani does, speaking to dog owners the fist time before issuing a fine. Fines for unleashed dogs on town-owned property start at $25 for first-time offenders and increase to $50, $75, and $100. Nee has never written a fine for $100. She also checks dog licenses when she is at the properties.

“It’s for their dog’s safety and for the safety of others,” Nee said of the leash law. Both Milani and Nee pointed out that there are many other animals that live on the properties and unleashed dogs can injure another animal or be injured themselves.

“These are conservation properties,” Milani said. “It’s a conflict with wildlife. Often dogs do disrupt wildlife.”

Nee mentioned that animals such as coyotes, raccoons and skunks are on the properties. “Do you really want your dog to go into the woods and have some kind of altercation?”she asked.

She encourages people to call her at 781-575-6507 if they come across an unleashed dog. “I can be there in a few minutes,” she said.

Milani and Nee also want to remind dog owners to clean up after their pets when walking them at Pequitside, Earl Newhouse and Windsor Woods. There are bags and a disposal area at Pequitside only.

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Posted by Mary Ann Price on Mar 16 2019. Filed under News, Town Government. Both comments and pings are currently closed.