Brookline Green Dog Program
Beverly Dog Park Committee advocates following
the success of Brookline's Off-Leash program.
On Friday, June 3, 2005, five members of the Dog Park committee
visited Bob Lynch, Director of Recreation for the Town of Brookline,
to hear about their "Green Dog Program", an Off-Leash
Pilot program that started in June 2004. After the one year pilot
period, this program has been so successful, the Brookline Town
Meeting voted 208 to 8 to to continue the program!
Brookline has established off-leash hours at 13 designated parks
throughout the city. This represents approximately 1/2 of the cities
parks. The Dog Park Committee toured several of the off-leash parks.
Park size ranged from 1.1 acres to 11.1 acres.
| # Parks |
Off-leash hours |
| 5 |
Dawn - 9:00 am |
| 6 |
Dawn - 1:00 pm |
| 2 |
Dawn - 1:00 pm (April-Nov)
Dawn - Dusk (Dec-May) |
At these parks, dogs are also permitted on-leash all day. Off-leash
dogs are not permitted in playground areas, sandboxes, tennis courts
or basketball courts. However, dogs are allowed on playing fields,
provided there are no permitted or school-related events occurring.
Leashed dogs are welcomed at ball games and other park-related events.
Since instituting the Brookline Green Dog Program, Brookline Parks
& Recreation has seen a very significant reduction in animal
complaints. From July 2000- July 2004, the total calls/incidents
relating to dogs was 355, including 15 dog bite/attack calls. Since
instituting the Green Dog Program, Parks & Recreation has received
a total of 13 emails/letters, of which 1/2 were not related to parks
with off-leash hours. There have been no reports of bites or attacks.
According to Bob Lynch, the parks are cleaner as well. Owners carry
their own bags in Brookline. The city does not provide dispensers.
Doggie bags are deposited in trash barrels and removed by the DPW.
The Green Dog Program has not cost the city anything except
for the installation of signs.
According to Bob Lynch, it's a win/win situation for everybody.
The dog owners are happy, the town is happy, the police officers
are happy, and the Parks Department is very pleased.
The success of the program is largely due to cooperation between
the Parks, the DPW, and the dog owners. The dog owners themselves
are very active in making sure the program works. There is a large
volunteer organization and an active email list. When a complaint
is logged, the dog owners/voluneteers are notified so the situation
can be addressed. According to Bob Lynch, the town is currently
considering expanding the off-leash program to include night-time
off-leash hours.
The Dog Park Committee certainly believes that a Green Dog Program
would be equally successful in Beverly and is drawing up proposals
to move forward with this program. If you would like to work with
us on this project, please join BARC or
contact wooff@beverlybarc.com
For more info:
Brookline
Green Dog Program Website
Brookline's Off-Leash Program
in Parks
How can you help?
Join BARC now.
Help BARC convince the city that Off Leash Exercise for residents
and their dogs is a legitimate recreational activity that contributes
to the community and deserves support!
View and sign the Support
Off Leash Areas In Beverly Petition!
Click here for a pdf copy of the petition
to collect signatures .
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