Reply from Ted Kerasote
I sent an e-mail to Ted Kerasote last night with a link to my blog and received this very throughtful reply today:
Dear Cal:Thanks for taking the time to write. The points your bring up in your letter are important ones and need addressing. Over the last year, as part of the research for my book, I visited New York City twice and did walking tours through Central Park and Prospect Park. I didn't notice dogs behaving in the ways you mention, but that's the problem with being a visitor--one gets a narrow snapshot. I wish I had been acquainted with your work then.What came to mind, though, as I read your letter is that the issue you raise is one of enforcement--not only park personnel and police taking the lead but also dog owners themselves. Dogs learn pretty quickly what's permitted and what's not from their people. The village I live in, for instance, is surrounded by wilderness and has lots of wildlife going through it--bison, mule deer, moose, coyotes, bears, wolves. A hundred or so people live here and thirty or so dogs. The dogs live unleashed and yet don't chase wildlife. Kelly is also in Grand Teton National Park, which doesn't permit dogs, even if they're leashed, in the backcountry. In three decades of hiking through the park, I have almost never seen this regulation ignored, though this place has a large dog-owning population and is also visited by three million visitors each year, some of whom also bring their dogs. This strict observation of the park rule on no dogs in the backcountry brings up the question of why dog owners in NYC don't similarly observe the rules. I don't know, but it would be worth trying to answer.Two of the people with whom I spoke while doing my research are Robert Marino, president of NYCDOG (ramnyc2000@yahoo.com) and Mary McInerney, head of FIDO (fidobrooklyn@att.net). I've fowarded your letter to both of them, and perhaps working with their groups, whose members don't want to lose their off-leash privileges, might bring some solution to the problems you raise.Sincerely,TedTed Kerasote
