BARC Bites: BARC News in Brief
Plainfield Greyhounds Need Homes
As you’ve probably heard, the greyhound track in Plainfield
CT closed abruptly, with rumors flying everywhere. No, 500 dogs
are not about to be destroyed. The State of Connecticut is overseeing
the whole operation to make sure that doesn’t happen. What
is happening is that the dogs are being sent either to other tracks
for racing, or are being sent to established greyhound adoption
groups. Please note that people cannot go to the track to get a
dog. They must go to one of the adoption groups.
One of the best groups is also local, in Salisbury, MA. It’s
the Greyhound Adoption Service, a non-profit organization that’s
been around for many years. As of Monday May 9, 2005, they received
their first group of Plainfield dogs, which are available for adoption.
You can see all of the dogs looking for homes at their website http://www.greycanine.com
The director of Greyhound Adoption Service is Marilyn Wolkowitz,
Her email is homes4grey@aol.com
If you have any questions about the dogs, please contact Marilyn.
If you have other questions about what it’s like to have a
greyhound as a pet, you may contact Bill Collins at bill@chefbill.com.
He and his wife Karen have had various retired racing greyhounds
for almost 19 years.
Also, on Saturday, May 14, from 11:00 am to 4:00 pm, the Greyhound
Adoption Service will have its annual alumni day at the Westford
MA 4H fairgrounds. You can find information and directions on the
Greyhound Adoption Service website.
Obear Park Cleanup
We had a BARC group at Obear Park on Saturday, March 27, for the cleanup of both Dog Poop and People trash. The people trash was obviously a much greater problem. The dog poop was about ten from the whole park and was for the most part near bushes around the perimeter. Attached are pictures of some of the trash that we picked up from the beach and the park. There is obviously a lot of drinking going on down in the woods as indicated by the cans and the bottles that were recovered.
After the cleanup, Nancy and I worked on taxes for about 4 hours and decided to take Easy for a walk. We decided to visit some local parks which included Bartlet gardens, The Commons and Independence Park.
Bartlet Gardens did not seem to have any poop but people were walking their dogs and there was a sign saying NO Dogs Allowed. It was my understanding that this sign was to be removed. We then walked to the Common and it has a real poop problem. Apparently there is someone or many with large dogs using this as a toilet for their dogs. They are not picking up and I found it very damming for the dog owner. There must be focus placed on clearing this problem. Independence Park had one Poop. Though not acceptable, can be corrected with a little diligence from other Dog owners in the area.
Ed Walsh
New Service offered by Animal Services
Other than the "doo problem", barking dogs are the second biggest
problem in our community. Animal services has initiated a new reporting
protocol for handling this type of complaint, and hopefully a proactive
response to resolving the "barking dog complaint".
The highpoint of this protocol is animal services offering "gentle
spray rentals". What is gentle spray rentals? It is animal services
offering dog owners the opportunity to "test-drive” the gentle spray
citronella anti-bark collar. Rental is for seven days beginning
on Monday, and return or purchase of unit on the following Monday.
Rental fee is $5.00 per day, or $30.00 per week. Late fee of $5.00
per day (if not returned in maximum of ten days you own it!) A deposit
of $85.00 is required to rent the unit. The deposit includes the
rental fee if unit is returned undamaged. If it works for your pet,
the deposit covers the purchase of the unit. Citronella refills,
batteries, and new straps are available through animal services.
For more information, or to rent a collar, please contact Jim Lindley,
Beverly Animal Services Officer, 978-921-6040 ext. 311.
|
