Dog lovers gained ground at Tuesday’s Aquinnah select board meeting.
Dogs can now enjoy Philbin Beach with their owners before 9 am and after 6 pm, spanning from Memorial Day to mid-October.
The daily hours were determined after Tom Murphy, board member, noted that while the beach’s parking lot attendant generally arrives at 10 am, the beach is normally quiet till 9.
“There’s generally nobody on the beach that’s bathing till 9 am; the dogs generally aren’t a problem,” Murphy said.
The new rules will accommodate many dog-owning town residents. “There are many residents, including myself, who walk a dog on the beach early at Philbin,” Murphy said.
He also noted that there is no clamming on Philbin for dogs to disrupt, unlike other town beaches like Red Beach or Children’s Beach, where they are totally prohibited.
Randhi Belain, Aquinnah Police Department chief, put a pin in the matter of animal control: “It’s going to turn into a police department problem because we don’t have an animal control officer, so just keep that in mind. And we need to revisit that, in my opinion.”
Paul Manning, Aquinnah Police Department sergeant, also noted that state law requires dogs be restrained when not on personal property.
So the previous rule banned dogs completely, but Selectman Murphy admitted he walked his dog on the beach daily in violation of the rule. Must be nice to have privilege.
In all fairness, please remember that dogs have always been legal at Philbin from mid-October to Memorial Day. Mr. Murphy did not say what time of year he did this dog walking. The article does not say. You assert he walks his dog there daily. Nowhere in the article does it say anything of the sort.
Top notch reporting friends thanks and god bless
I walked on Philbin beach one mild day last winter. One dog walker had several dogs off leash, and not in control of any of them. They appeared at first to be a wild pack of dogs, jumping at other dogs and walkers and running wild.
One dog in particular would run up to people and growl and show it’s teeth and not back down, while the dog walker was no where in sight. It was frightening and unnerving to be in that situation when expecting to have a peaceful walk on a quiet afternoon.
That dog did not attack or bite me, that day. When coming across a dog running freely, you don’t know what to expect, as owners swear that their dogs are “friendly” until they bite or jump on an innocent bypasser.
Dogs should not be allowed on public beaches during the summer months or at any time, and never unleashed on a public beach or property. They are animals. Where they are allowed, they are rarely restrained and on leashes or under control of their owners and pose a threat to other beach goers and less aggressive dogs. They are often allowed to run freely even when required to remain on a leash, and are not in their owner’s control. They are a nuisance and threat to wildlife.
They deficate and pee on the beach, which is left there and not picked up by their owners where in the summer, children play in the sand and people walk barefoot and lay on the beach. This poses a threat to adults and humans, and is a serious health and environmental concern. Most beaches do not allow dogs on beaches for this reason and more. For more information visit:
https://www.mass.gov/info-details/pet-waste-and-bathing-beaches#:~:text=Pet%20waste%20can%20contain%20bacteria,cramping%2C%20fatigue%2C%20and%20weight%20loss
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