I see nothing has been done about this? Is going to take someone getting hurt or sick to fix this?

The "No dogs allowed" signs were removed because there is no regulations or by laws prohibiting dogs in parks. It was brought to my attention by a number of dog owners who brought their dogs to watch their children play at the park and were asked to leave. Once the research was completed it was determined that the signs had no legal bearing and were removed. New signs have been ordered and will be placed at all parks informing visitors that all dogs must be on a leash and they must pick up after the dogs. These signs are enforceable by the by laws in the town of Stoneham and will be enforced. Dave Ragucci

How do I protests this? I do not think that Dogs should be allowed. I have children that participate in youth sports at Rec park. There is dog mess all over.

The problem isn't dogs on town property. The problem is people who do not pick up after them. There are people who do not pick up after their dogs on public sidewalks, the town common, town parks, and other public areas where children walk and play. You cannot ban dogs from all public property.
Where would you draw the line? No dogs in the parks ? No dogs on the common? No dogs on the sidewalk? All these places have children walking and playing and all show signs of disrespectful dog owners . What needs to be done is try to enforce the law requiring people to pick up after their dogs. Other than that, unfortunately there's not much you can do about it other than speak up if you see someone not picking up after their dog.
I do not have a dog myself, but trying to ban them from specific areas is not going to solve the problem.

How about we put a bylaw in place that states dogs are not allowed at or on the sports fields? Let's do something in this town in the best interest of the kids, instead of trying to be people pleasers. It's unsanitary to expect a child to be rolling around or sliding through grass where a dog is urinating or defecating, picked up or not. People seem to think scooping it up magically makes it sanitary. Check into the regulations regarding other towns/cities surrounding us. They don't even allow colored drinks like Gatorade on their fields let alone animals. We make the best out of what we have here in town in terms of sports facilities, while subpar compared to the surrounding towns and cities, children should not subjected to an even lower standard.

Thank you, my point exactly. They refuse to see the problem. I just hope that someone will take this matter seriously. It seems to be a big joke to some people.

There are regulations in place that prohibit animal owners from allowing their pets to defecate on public property. The BOH does not stock pooper scooper signs, nor do they stock "No Dogs Allowed" signs. The difficulty lies in the actual enforcement of these regulations. Unfortunately, where there are no cameras or other surveillance measures in place to accurately pin-point would-be violators, enforcement hinges on direct sight of violators to these regulations. The BOH will forward any future complaints to Animal Control, and will request that SPD take notice of any animal owner walking with a pet on public fields or commons in efforts to cull the number of violators to the bylaw.

Forwarded to Animal Control and Stoneham Police

Really? Have we gotten this soft as a society we are worried about residual animal droppings and colored drinks? Are we going to ban birds from flying overhead or squirrels from running across the fields? No one likes it when a dog owner doesn't pick up after themselves, but in all my years playing sports in parks, even before leash laws or pooper-scoopers were invented, it was hardly ever an issue. My daughter is down at Rec Park all summer long and most days in the fall and I've never seen it to be an issue. If you see someone not picking up after their dog, confront them, shame them, call the police on them, but banning dogs isn't the way to go, and is illegal if it is a service dog which is more prevalent now and growing in numbers.

This is one of the many feces that is on the field at Recreation Park. There are many kids here now on the field. And again, this is the reason that Dogs should not be allowed on field where kids play and it because of people who bring their dogs when no one is around. Who is responsible for picking this up?

This is one of the many feces that is on the field at Recreation Park. There are many kids here now on the field. And again, this is the reason that Dogs should not be allowed on field where kids play and it because of people who bring their dogs when no one is around. Who is responsible for picking this up?

Yes, it makes us soft for not wanting our kids going face first into a pile of dog excrement during a tackle or cheer practice or having to scrape it out of shoes, because after all, we have nothing better to do. Seriously, if the new regime in this town is so focused on becoming a carbon copy wannabe of Reading or Winchester, they might want to start with our sports facilities. Ours pale in comparison, and yet we still have the utmost pride in them, shame on us for wanting a respectable, sanitary place to play.

If the Selectmen cared about our children they would have introduced a similar article.

Town Article

Move that the Town vote to amend the Stoneham Town Code by inserting into Chapter 3 Animals and Fowl the following:

Sec. 3-12. Parks – Dog Ban

(a) Parks – Dog Ban: It shall be unlawful for any person to allow any dog, except a registered service dog, to be within the boundaries of:

Town of Stoneham Parcel 6-0-78, Cerrone Park, as recorded in the Middlesex Registry of Deeds in Book 11873 Page 539.

Town of Stoneham Parcel 13-0-55, Recreation Park, as recorded in the Middlesex Registry of Deeds in Book 10797 Page 353

(b) Enforcement: Violation of this section shall be punishable by a fine pursuant to Section 1.4 of these Bylaws.

(c) Penalties: The non-criminal disposition penalty that shall apply to a violation of Section 3-12 shall be as follows:

First Offense (over a 24-month period) Warning
Second Offense (over a 24-month period) $ 50.00
Third and subsequent offense(s) (over a 24-month period) $150.00

And further to amend Section 1-4A of the Stoneham Town Code so as to list the non-criminal disposition penalty listed in this Section 3-12(c) in said Section 1-4A.

If YOU cared about our children, you'd bring that write up to the Selectmen and suggest it. That's not hard to do. "If the Selectmen cared about children..." Ridiculous. What next? "Yo mama is so" statements? Be more constructive. On another note... that pile of crap looks like it came from a small horse! People can be so gross and lazy. Those are the ones who don't care about our children.

The Board of Health will continue to monitor the situation at Rec Park. The "No Dogs Allowed" sign, whenever it may have been erected, was done so illegally. There are no regulations in place prohibiting dog owners from using this field. We will continue to stress that dog owners must demonstrate proper etiquette in cleaning up after their animals. There are thousands of active dog licenses that are issued every year in Stoneham, and unfortunately, some owners choose to disregard etiquette.

The Board of Health will not prohibit dogs from being on a public field, as it is not dogs that are the problem. The problem lies in the owners' lack of etiquette, which the Town is actively trying to curb.

Complaint Closed.

We have all heard the town reiterate that there are no regulations in place prohibiting dog owners from using the fields. I'm not sure what thousands of active dog licenses have to do with this matter in particular. That sounds like a veiled way of saying because they pay for a dog license they are entitled. And again, I will reiterate children are more important than dogs.

How are you actively trying to curb this problem? How are you stressing it? I am not being flippant in asking these questions. I legitimately would like to know what is being said or done and where and to whom other than on seeclickfix to address this issue. Signage is obviously not effective. Etiquette and the honor system are clearly not working.

There is a way to alleviate all of this back and forth. Ban dogs from the sports fields and designate a fenced in green space for an actual dog park. Everyone wins!

At this time, the Town is not banning dogs from public fields. We will take all complaints into consideration moving forward in terms of development of the Town and development of recreational space.

Complaint closed

Thanks for fixing this issue!

The above thanks was to the Board as I really don't see dogs being that big of a problem.

You may not see the issue. Are you on any of the fields Mon-Sun? Running the fields? Walking around the fields? Practicing on the fields? This issue may be closed on here, but ot certainly not over.

Yes I am there at least every other Sunday.