Pooch poop proposal postponed

GILFORD — The issue of dog poop was front and center before the Board of Selectmen on Wednesday night as two dozen people showed up to object to a proposal to ban man’s best friend from Stonewall Park and the Village Fields.

Board members of the Cal Ripken Baseball League, which plays at Francoeur Field in the village area, had complained to the town Recreation Commission about dog waste on the diamond where teams play.

However, the proposed regulation — including fines starting at $25 — would have prohibited dogs from the entire Village Fields area, not just the fenced-in diamond. People told the selectmen that was going too far.

Gilford Town Administrator Scott Dunn said he would draft a new regulation to be considered by the selectmen at their next meeting.

This draft would ban dogs from Francoeur Field and Stonewall Park, another baseball field in town. Violators could be fined and fines could be imposed for people who don’t pick up after their dogs in public areas where they are allowed.

Veterinarian David Stowe told the board that waste from dogs who receive regular veterinary care is unlikely to pose a health risk and that coyotes and foxes also leave droppings behind.

Dogs and people need exercise, he said, and salted sidewalks hurt dog paws.

“Instead of a prohibition, I would propose and ask for increased education in the form of signage and an increase in the availability of doggy waste bag stations,” he said. “These stations are relatively inexpensive and have been a potent message, but we need more.”

Jim McShane, who has lived in the village for 35 years, said he always picks up after his dog but has seen others who do not do so, including on Francoeur Field.

“It’s despicable,” he said. “They let them poop and take off.”

He said dogs should still be allowed in areas other than the baseball field.

“People bring their dogs when they watch their kids playing soccer,” said McShane, who also used to play soccer there. He recalls sliding on goose droppings.

“Are we going to start shooting the geese now?” he asked.

Gilford Police Chief Anthony J. Bean Burpee said he lives in Laconia and frequents a dog park in that city with his three pets. Despite the presence of signs and a doggy waste station with bags, many people simply don’t pick up as they should.

“I think the people sitting in this room are responsible dog owners,” he said. “The people we are talking about are the people who are not here who aren’t responsible owners and just avoid all signs and let their dogs do whatever.”

He also said it is difficult to enforce the kind of rules the board is considering.

“How are we going to find those people?” he asked. “For us, if it doesn’t happen in our presence, we can’t just issue fines.”

Tom Day, the new general manager and president at Gunstock Mountain Resort, who was at the meeting to introduce himself to the board, also had something to say about dog droppings.

“One of the things I find that works really well is when you see somebody that’s not picking up the dog poop, you say, ‘Oh, jeez you forgot your bag, I got a spare one.’

“And that’s not confrontational. It just makes a point and they actually think, ‘Oh, now I’ve got to pick it up.’”