Mission
The mission of Dog Owners of Greater Scarborough (D.O.G.S.) is to promote the interests of dogs within our society....encouraging owners to provide a healthy and loving environment and government to promote and encourage ordinances and practices that allow for freedom of responsibly managed dogs to recreate and participate in society.
The History of D.O.G.S.
During the summer of 2013, a small group of citizens became aware of the town council's intent to revisit the animal control ordinance as the death of a piping plover simultaneously hit the headlines. A concerned citizen by the name of Dick LaRou began to reach out to fellow dog owners that ranged from friends and neighbors to complete strangers in the community inviting them to discuss ways in which they could help the town come up with a better way to protect the plovers going forward while maintaining the small 3 hour window between 6-9 am that dog owners were allowed to run their dogs off-leash during the summer.
Over the course of the next few months, various members of the community joined in on the discussions, and began attending town council meetings. They also started reaching out to councilors with offers that ranged from volunteering to stand guard over the bird nests during off-leash time to raising funds to prevent the town from having to pay the fine the federal government was threatening due to the loss of the bird, and a host of other creative and excellent ideas to address concerns regarding dogs on the beach. The expanding D.O.G.S. group asked the council repeatedly to consider forming a committee that would consist of individuals on all sides of the issue coming together to find a fair and balanced solution. The town council resoundingly said "no." They did not need or want another committee, and felt that they were fully capable of making the decision themselves without town involvement.
On the night of October 2nd, the town council was set to vote on whether to expand the town's current beach restrictions to remove all off-leash time from April until September, and expand the complete ban on dogs (leashed or unleashed) from 9-5 to include the months of April and May as opposed to June 15-Sept. 15. Just prior to voting and after public comment was closed, an amendment was added to the animal control ordinance that would ban off-leash dogs COMPLETELY from all public lands, regardless of what time of year. This action essentially made it a crime in the town of Scarborough for a dog to swim, to fetch a ball, or to run on any public land from parks to beaches. It was on this night that the issue shifted from being a controversial change to our beach ordinance to becoming an action that literally turned the town upside-down and resulted in public outcry as dog owners and non-dog owners alike united in response to what was seen as an abuse of power on the part of some members of the town council. Katy Foley and her sister Suzanne Foley-Ferguson, concerned citizens and members of the D.O.G.S. group, went to the town hall the morning after the controversial vote where Katy took out a citizen's petition to overturn the new, restrictive ordinance. Katy became our "Pack Leader".
Over the course of the next two weeks, what was a small, informal group of dog lovers became a force to be reckoned with. With approximately 100 volunteers coming forward with a desire to help, and hundreds more reaching out literally from all over the country (vacationers, part-time residents, etc...), within 14 days the group morphed into something much bigger than any of us could have imagined sitting in Dick's living room back in July. The volunteers collected over 2700 signatures, exceeding the number required by the town to get the issue on the ballot, and on October 16th the group presented the people's petition to the town. The same day the petition was turned in, some members of the council made motions to change the council's prior actions. Any change at all to what they had done on the night of Oct. 2nd would have invalidated the signatures of over 2700 voters, and it was clear to the D.O.G.S. group based on conversations with councilors that they had no intention of going back to the fair and balanced ordinance the town held prior to the night of Oct. 2 if they were to reconsider. The council ultimately voted 3-3 on the proposal of reconsidering their prior actions which meant they would not reconsider, and the issue would proceed to a town vote and special election.
What started as a small group of people who got together to try to offer some assistance to the council, seeking to find a way to share our beaches and protect the plovers, became an official PAC on October 8, 2013 in order to proceed legally with the fundraising that is necessary in nearly any election process. For legal purposes, the original official PAC consisted of Treasurer Dick LaRou, Chair Katy Foley, and Vice Chair Brian Kanode. The official PAC members changed when Brian decided to write his intelligent blog Scarborough Beaches Alert, which we recommend as fun, factual and intriguing writing, but not always consistent with the PAC's mission. We appreciate Brian's contribution to our cause as he continues to keep a watchful eye on Council actions as most of us can't. The number of individuals working behind the scenes, however, is enormous with many contributing time, talents, and resources to the official cause. As with any political or social issue, for every member of a group, there is at least a slightly different opinion on how things should look and be run. Though it is not possible to solicit feedback from every concerned citizen that has joined our cause prior to making all the decisions that will need to be made to launch a successful campaign, it is our mission to be as transparent and open with supporters and members of our larger group as we can throughout this process. We truly appreciate the support we receive from the many volunteers who have brought the Share Scarborough aka D.O.G.S. movement to where it is today. We value your support.
During the summer of 2013, a small group of citizens became aware of the town council's intent to revisit the animal control ordinance as the death of a piping plover simultaneously hit the headlines. A concerned citizen by the name of Dick LaRou began to reach out to fellow dog owners that ranged from friends and neighbors to complete strangers in the community inviting them to discuss ways in which they could help the town come up with a better way to protect the plovers going forward while maintaining the small 3 hour window between 6-9 am that dog owners were allowed to run their dogs off-leash during the summer.
Over the course of the next few months, various members of the community joined in on the discussions, and began attending town council meetings. They also started reaching out to councilors with offers that ranged from volunteering to stand guard over the bird nests during off-leash time to raising funds to prevent the town from having to pay the fine the federal government was threatening due to the loss of the bird, and a host of other creative and excellent ideas to address concerns regarding dogs on the beach. The expanding D.O.G.S. group asked the council repeatedly to consider forming a committee that would consist of individuals on all sides of the issue coming together to find a fair and balanced solution. The town council resoundingly said "no." They did not need or want another committee, and felt that they were fully capable of making the decision themselves without town involvement.
On the night of October 2nd, the town council was set to vote on whether to expand the town's current beach restrictions to remove all off-leash time from April until September, and expand the complete ban on dogs (leashed or unleashed) from 9-5 to include the months of April and May as opposed to June 15-Sept. 15. Just prior to voting and after public comment was closed, an amendment was added to the animal control ordinance that would ban off-leash dogs COMPLETELY from all public lands, regardless of what time of year. This action essentially made it a crime in the town of Scarborough for a dog to swim, to fetch a ball, or to run on any public land from parks to beaches. It was on this night that the issue shifted from being a controversial change to our beach ordinance to becoming an action that literally turned the town upside-down and resulted in public outcry as dog owners and non-dog owners alike united in response to what was seen as an abuse of power on the part of some members of the town council. Katy Foley and her sister Suzanne Foley-Ferguson, concerned citizens and members of the D.O.G.S. group, went to the town hall the morning after the controversial vote where Katy took out a citizen's petition to overturn the new, restrictive ordinance. Katy became our "Pack Leader".
Over the course of the next two weeks, what was a small, informal group of dog lovers became a force to be reckoned with. With approximately 100 volunteers coming forward with a desire to help, and hundreds more reaching out literally from all over the country (vacationers, part-time residents, etc...), within 14 days the group morphed into something much bigger than any of us could have imagined sitting in Dick's living room back in July. The volunteers collected over 2700 signatures, exceeding the number required by the town to get the issue on the ballot, and on October 16th the group presented the people's petition to the town. The same day the petition was turned in, some members of the council made motions to change the council's prior actions. Any change at all to what they had done on the night of Oct. 2nd would have invalidated the signatures of over 2700 voters, and it was clear to the D.O.G.S. group based on conversations with councilors that they had no intention of going back to the fair and balanced ordinance the town held prior to the night of Oct. 2 if they were to reconsider. The council ultimately voted 3-3 on the proposal of reconsidering their prior actions which meant they would not reconsider, and the issue would proceed to a town vote and special election.
What started as a small group of people who got together to try to offer some assistance to the council, seeking to find a way to share our beaches and protect the plovers, became an official PAC on October 8, 2013 in order to proceed legally with the fundraising that is necessary in nearly any election process. For legal purposes, the original official PAC consisted of Treasurer Dick LaRou, Chair Katy Foley, and Vice Chair Brian Kanode. The official PAC members changed when Brian decided to write his intelligent blog Scarborough Beaches Alert, which we recommend as fun, factual and intriguing writing, but not always consistent with the PAC's mission. We appreciate Brian's contribution to our cause as he continues to keep a watchful eye on Council actions as most of us can't. The number of individuals working behind the scenes, however, is enormous with many contributing time, talents, and resources to the official cause. As with any political or social issue, for every member of a group, there is at least a slightly different opinion on how things should look and be run. Though it is not possible to solicit feedback from every concerned citizen that has joined our cause prior to making all the decisions that will need to be made to launch a successful campaign, it is our mission to be as transparent and open with supporters and members of our larger group as we can throughout this process. We truly appreciate the support we receive from the many volunteers who have brought the Share Scarborough aka D.O.G.S. movement to where it is today. We value your support.
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On 10/16/2013, the people of Scarborough, Maine submitted petitions consisting of over 2700 signatures in order to overturn a controversial action taken by the town council. The controversial ruling resulted in off-leash dogs being banned from ALL public lands in the town of Scarborough including parks, trails, and beaches year round, essentially making running, swimming, and ball chasing illegal activities in the town of Scarborough except on private land. This was put into law by the council without any public discussion or input.
- There was a fair and balanced ordinance in place prior to the council's ruling that limited off-leash dogs to just 3 hours a day from 6-9 am on Scarborough beaches from June until September. This gave dog owners just 12% beach access to run their dogs off-leash. The prior ordinance also dictated that ALL dogs must be under the control of their owner at ALL times. For some dogs, this meant being leashed, but not so for others. The need for leashing is not something that can be fixed by a "one size fits all" mandate.
- Many believe that the problem with our prior ordinance was a lack of enforcement. If dogs were running wild, their owners were breaking the law and should have been held accountable. Responsible dog owners should not be punished for the actions of those with no respect for the laws, and those who break laws will continue to break laws.
- Non-dog owners have joined the cause because they believe that if the council can take such a broad and extreme action without being accountable to the public, they can do so with anything, and there is danger in government without oversight.
- Some environmentalists have joined our cause, because they are embarrassed by the bad name extremists have given to environmental causes. For a federal agency to insist that an entire town change a way of life because of the death of a single bird (USFW bullying and threatening the town with fines if they did not agree to ban off-leash dogs) causes other environmental agencies to get a "bad rap." Our goal should be to protect the plovers, not pitting humans against the wildlife.
- The idea of spending hundreds of thousands of dollars on building dog parks, or agreeing to the demands of the feds to hire a "Piping Plover Coordinator" (a paid position that must be maintained for a minimum of 5 years) causes many residents concern with regard to the responsible stewardship of taxpayers' money.
- Our group's biggest and resounding argument to overturn the town council's action was simply a desire to SHARE SCARBOROUGH. Overall, we believe in working together as a community, sharing our natural resources, caring for our neighbors, and being tolerant of one another. We seek a fair and balanced ordinance that respects the needs of the community as a whole and are committed to working together to make sure everyone in our town has a voice.