Irresponsible dog owners let pets kill great blue heron in Arnold Arboretum

By adamg on Tue., 8/25/2015 - 6:19 pm

Flier posted at Arnold Arboretum about killer dog

Oh, yeah, there's a reason you're not supposed to let your dog run wild through the Arboretum. Joe Growhoski reports these fliers about off-leash killers are now posted at the Arboretum: They kill the local wildlife, bite kids and bike riders, trample new plantings and shit all over the place. Stop it, the Arboretum implores.

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Comments

To be fair

By Sally
Wed, 08/26/2015 - 2:49pm

The dog owners on the SWC are a pretty mixed bunch. I tend to encounter a lot of older Spanish-speaking ladies with chihuahuas. The worst IMO are the people of all stripes who use those damned extendable leashes while chatting on their phones--not only is the dog all over the path but there's a freaking wire running between it and the oblivious owners.

HOLY @#@$))#@$#$

By Meeeeeee
Tue, 08/25/2015 - 6:41pm

What is it going to take for people to stop letting their dogs hurt people and other animals in the arboretum. I could just cry thinking about the loss of that beautiful bird.

The Arbs

By anon
Tue, 08/25/2015 - 6:43pm

and Millinium park are covered in dog shit and over run by entitled dog owners.

The Arboretum

By cw in boston
Wed, 08/26/2015 - 10:03am

is pretty clean. There are scofflaws but I can walk for a few miles, both on and off paths and not see anything. It's far from "covered." I'm sure no one is picking up after the deer and coyotes though.

Yep.

By Sally
Wed, 08/26/2015 - 10:24am

I have to say--I don't think I've ever seen dog poop in the Arboretum but I don't go to Peter's Hill and it sounds as if the problem is concentrated there. It seems as if this needs to be addressed ASAP. I know there's a movement afoot to create a dog park nearby (West Roxbury?) but I wonder if there's any area in Roslindale that could be considered.

I have been walking daily for

By Mary Jo
Wed, 08/26/2015 - 1:30pm

I have been walking daily for six months with my rescued pitbull, starting from the Visitors Center, never at Peters Hill because she doesn't do well with off leash dogs running up to her. She is ALWAYS on a leash and I ALWAYS pick up her poop. During the deep snows this winter it was really noticeable how many people just left behind dog poop. I am guessing Arboretum staff do a fair amount of picking up shit during the busy season.

Nice poster

By anon
Tue, 08/25/2015 - 6:56pm

How about some fines and enforcement and ejection of entitled owners?

Bingo...

By fairlee76
Wed, 08/26/2015 - 9:21am

I own a dog and stopped going to Peters Hill due to the presence of off-leash, out of control dogs. If people want dog owners to cut the shit, the leash law needs to be enforced and violators need to be fined.

I don't think dog owners stand out as particularly entitled or jerky in Boston. Doing so would be an impressive feat.

So, unleashed pet kills bird.....

By Pussy Exposed
Tue, 08/25/2015 - 7:03pm

Sounds the same thing millions of domestic cats do. Get let outside, they go kill birds. Sometimes babies still in their nests. Why is it only bad when a dog does it?

Please

By adamg
Tue, 08/25/2015 - 7:09pm

No domestic cat is slinking into the Arboretum and taking down a great blue heron.

That would honestly be a

By bgl
Tue, 08/25/2015 - 7:15pm

That would honestly be a pretty amazing house cat to take on one of those.

Oh, it only is a problem if a large bird gets killed

By Opponent of Can...
Tue, 08/25/2015 - 11:34pm

Cats kill up to 3.7 billion birds per year per this national geographic article. Nobody gives a shit about that.

One dog kills one heron and and it's a freakin' genocide to you people.

I think it's quite obvious that you all are canine-ist! Just look at the photo in that article. The cat is about to ambush an innocent family of...that's right. TURKEYS. The TLF can't even stop this!

Funny how they never figure in the counterfactual

By swirlygrrl of t...
Tue, 08/25/2015 - 11:48pm

You do realize that rats kill birds, too.

You do realize that rat poison kills raptors, too.

No cats means a hell of a lot more mice and rats. More mice and rats means more rodents attacking bird nests. More mice and rats means more rodent poison resulting in raptors eating poisoned rodents and dying.

Of course, in the quest for hating on cats, nobody ever adds all this up on the other side of the ledger.

Nor do they factor in what happened the last time cat haters like yourself got their cat demonizing ball rolling at speed.

So, I take it your yard has

By Patricia
Wed, 08/26/2015 - 10:46am

So, I take it your yard has never been littered with headless birds an entire summer season! The neighborhood cat(s) killed just about every bird that visited my yard. Took in my bird bath and feeders to save them.

It got to the point I noticed a bird with it's head still attached and was amazed.

Nope

By SwirlyGrrl
Wed, 08/26/2015 - 5:55pm

Never.

Might have something to do with the fact that cats that don't have homes and cats that stay out at night do not exactly dominate the food web in my area.

So ...

By adamg
Wed, 08/26/2015 - 12:08am

You let your dog off the leash the instant you get into the Arboretum, I'm gathering?

Nope

By Opponent of Can...
Wed, 08/26/2015 - 3:23am

Don't have a dog. Haven't been to the arboreteum in years. No dog in this race.

and link didn't work. Trying again here:

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2013/29/13...

I don't really agree with the

By chaosjake
Wed, 08/26/2015 - 1:42pm

I don't really agree with the point you're trying to make, but here's a more fun link for you. Merry Christmas.

How much do cats actually kill?

They all ignore the impact of eliminating cats

By SwirlyGrrl
Wed, 08/26/2015 - 5:58pm

Again, cats are not the only ones who prey on birds - rats do too. When rats and mice have no predators, people poison them, raptors eat poisoned rodents, and raptors die.

All of these "cats are killers and should be eliminated" things are not looking at the entire ecosystem that humans have created.

You missed the point Adam.

By Wtf021
Wed, 08/26/2015 - 6:32am

You missed the point Adam. Can you read into a comment without the need for it to be spelled out for you. Or if a comment does not go along with your point, you have a snide remark to say about it. Then all your little minions come out and pound away at the thumbs up button for you.

Thanks for reminding me

By Neal
Wed, 08/26/2015 - 9:59am

I had forgotten to give Adam a thumbs up.

No they just kill the baby

By Ry
Wed, 08/26/2015 - 8:02am

No they just kill the baby birds.

Cats also kill rodents, but

By Jager
Tue, 08/25/2015 - 7:33pm

Cats also kill rodents, but not much complaint about that.

Rodents are invasive

By swirlygrrl of t...
Tue, 08/25/2015 - 10:40pm

Rodents are also a nuisance, which is why people brought cats into control them.

Well, there is no leash law

By theabos
Tue, 08/25/2015 - 8:45pm

Well, there is no leash law for cats let outside, although I, and the Humane Society of the US among many others, strongly recommend not allowing your cat outdoors.

I leash my cat if I have to

By anon
Wed, 08/26/2015 - 8:54am

I leash my cat if I have to take her out of the house. Maybe there should be a leash law.

Humane society of the US?

By Bob Leponge
Wed, 08/26/2015 - 2:12pm

HSUS? Now, there's a reputable, credible organization

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Humane_Society_o...

Cats should be spayed

By anon
Wed, 08/26/2015 - 6:37pm

Cats should be spayed neutered because they propagate fast

I'm a completely overinvested

By anon
Wed, 08/26/2015 - 7:52am

I'm a completely overinvested cat owner and I'll just say it: anyone who lets their domestic cat outdoors in the city is a shitty pet owner, too. Keep them INSIDE where they are SAFE, and have the bonus of keeping the bird population safe.

Meh, those little brown

By anon
Wed, 08/26/2015 - 10:21am

Meh, those little brown sparrows are invasive pests anyways, as are the pigeons, I'm not getting ANY fancy birds in my parts lol

Declining membership?

By Sock_Puppet
Tue, 08/25/2015 - 7:19pm

I know more than one person who stopped their membership because arb management let it turn into a dog park. Maybe they're starting to realize that running a de facto dog park is incompatible with their mission.

Can we have our arboretum back now? Or will it take the death of a child?

I wouldn't blame the management

By Waquiot
Tue, 08/25/2015 - 7:50pm

Unless you thnk they should hire a bunch of dog officers, get them camouflage, and let them seize off leash dogs. Because that might be the only thing to stop the asshat owners.

My apologies to good owners, but there is a reason I hate dog owners, and it is crap like this (along with the crap I sometimes almost step in.)

At the very least

By Sock_Puppet
Tue, 08/25/2015 - 8:24pm

The arbs people could tell dog owners to leash up or get out with the same alacrity with which they address juvenile tree climbers.

I'm on board with that

By Will LaTulippe
Tue, 08/25/2015 - 8:33pm

Nab the dog who killed the heron. When his/her person comes to claim him, 30 days in jail for cruelty to animals. (bangs gavel)

I love dogs...

By Michael Kerpan
Tue, 08/25/2015 - 8:39pm

...but not so fond about LOTS of dog owners (ditto cats and cat owners).

Works for me

By lbb
Tue, 08/25/2015 - 10:19pm

Seize a few off-leash dogs, impound 'em, let the owner go through a lot of expense and trouble to get 'em back, and let 'em worry themselves sick about poor Fluffy in the meanwhile. After they pay a hefty fine, take mugshots of them and their dog and tell them that a second offense means losing the dog permanently. Let 'em wonder what that means.

lbb I would love to watch you

By HairyMary
Wed, 08/26/2015 - 6:37am

lbb I would love to watch you try to "seize" by dog. Lucky for you the Arb isn't too far from the Faulkner.

Gosh Mary you sound really tough

By Sock_Puppet
Wed, 08/26/2015 - 7:43am

Just bear in mind that people have a right to defend themselves from your dog, and a felony assault conviction could crimp your lifestyle.

No problem!

By anon
Wed, 08/26/2015 - 8:59am

No problem!
That is why they make these!

http://wac.450f.edgecastcdn.net/80450F/kissfm969.c...

Let's do it, unleashed

By anon
Wed, 08/26/2015 - 10:24am

Let's do it, unleashed entitleds vs civilized boston , meet at Peters hill after work, it gets sorted this Friday , you aren't scared right?

I would love to watch you try and stop it

By lbb
Wed, 08/26/2015 - 5:49pm

I'm not gonna do any seizing, cupcake, that'll be done by animal control officers who have dealt with meaner dogs than yours and tougher people than you. I'll just point and laugh.

Seriously, get your head out of your ass. You're blustering and threatening because people want to curtail a practice that you are NOT ENTITLED TO. You're like a two-year-old stomping and screaming "CANDY NOW! CANDY NOW! CANDY NOW!" Do you expect anyone to take anything you say seriously?

arboretum staff claim they can do nothing

By Jessica b.
Tue, 08/25/2015 - 9:53pm

when you complain to them they will tell you the city park rangers are responsible for enforcing the rules. But maybe Harvard needs to provide their own security since Rangers seem to be never present or ineffective. I would visit and enjoy the arboretum more if it banned dogs or at least enforced leash laws. Dog owners simply cannot be trusted to follow the rules. I would say on recent visits to peters hill 9/10 dogs are off leash. The death of this beautiful heron is simply unacceptable and so sad.

Bikers in Boston

By Roberto Gonzalez
Sun, 08/30/2015 - 9:49am

I love when a bicyclist stops to tell me about the leash laws and city ordinances in the City of Boston. What about all the daily defiant bicyclists in Boston who never obey traffic laws and then get pissed at you when they come flying up on your car's right passenger side without warning. For Christ sake you have roads now with bike lanes everywhere, then use them rather than coming dangerously close to running down humans at the arboretum. What's it going to take? A Nun holding a baby gets run down at the arboretum and 2 innocent lives are taken.

NO JUSTICE NO PEACE

By Turkey Liberati...
Tue, 08/25/2015 - 7:28pm

Our cruel and unrelenting Enemy leaves us no choice but a brave resistance, or the most abject submission; this is all we can expect - We have therefore to resolve to conquer or die: Our own ancestral homeland's Honor, all call upon us for a vigorous and manly exertion, and if we now shamefully fail, we shall become infamous to the whole world. Let us therefore rely upon the goodness of the Cause, and the aid of the supreme Being, in whose hands Victory is, to animate and encourage us to great and noble Actions - The Eyes of all our Countrymen are now upon us, and we shall have their blessings, and praises, if happily we are the instruments of saving them from the Tyranny meditated against them. Let us therefore animate and encourage each other, and shew the whole world, that a turkey contending for Liberty on his own ground is superior to any slavish mercenary on earth!

Too soon

By anon
Tue, 08/25/2015 - 7:39pm

This article is about the death of a noble, beautiful wild bird and therefore has nothing to do with turkeys. You sure like to talk about tyranny conveniently forgetting that it was the very state government itself which has coddled the wild turkey population to their current point of nuisance. If it wasn't for the government, you'd be living in the Northeast Kingdom somewhere.

92 days until Thanksgiving FYI.

Irresponsible dog owners let pets kill great blue heron in Arnold Arboretum

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