the person didn't say they weren't picking up after the dogs, just that they were poopin. Get over it, the kids are probably dirtier.

As a dog owner, I dont take them to the beach but I think if Kingston established an actual dog park, it would cut down on these problems.

I second a dog park. I live in Lake Katrine and once a week I drive to either Poughkeepsie or Athens to bring my dog to the dog park

and at the dog park,if your dog defecates do you pick it up? it is a state law to do so.....

Of couse why would u even ask. But I think there are to many scumbags in Kingston for a dog park to work. The park would not be taken care of properly because people from midtown will bring their pitbulls and have they poop everywhere. If they can't take care of their kids how can we expect them to take care if their dogs

@ Swarz: I don't think thats really fair to automatically say that any midtown dog owner has a pitbull and is a lousy parent. I live in a pretty decent neighborhood and watch the owners ignore their dogs (and kids) and leave the poop to be cleaned off the sidewalk in front of our homes. I agree with Copper. Enforce the existing laws and deal with the fact that dogs are still animals, and people in general are lazy.

A dog park would be awesome if it was maintained. Where I used to live we had a dog park for small dogs (under 20 lbs) and a park for larger dogs. It worked out well. It was also patrolled, and if your dog was not licensed, you would get a ticket. But it was great for the dogs and was a nice place for the dog parents to socialize.

WELL COPPER,
ITS PEOPLE LIKE YOU WHO PUT ANIMALS AHEAD OF THE NEEDS OF CHILDREN. DO YOU HAVE IT ON AN 8' LEASH OR LESS, OR ARE YOU THE ONE WHO LETS THEM LED YOU TO WHEREEVER THEY WANT TO GO? IF SO YOU HAVE NO CONTROL OVER YOUR DOG AND SHOULD GO TO A CLASS TO TRAIN THE DOG. YOU ARE NOT THE MASTER OF YOUR DOG.....HE IS THE MASTER OF YOU

both of you need to stop your bickering and focus on the issue at hand. everybody has their opinions ... thats what this board is about. and we must respect each others opinions.

now ... to the issue at hand... people walk dogs. the beach is nice. but, people need to take responsibility ... something people are moving away from. and, as mentioned before, people cant even take care of their own kids none the less dogs. but if one walks their dog(s), then they need to be responsible.

I HAVE NO PROBLEM WITH PEOPLE WALKING THEIR DOGS AS LONG AS THEY PICK UP AFTER THEM. IT IS THE INCONSIDERATE ONES WHO WALK THEM ANYWHERE THEY WANT AND THOSE WHO DO NOT PICK UP AFTER THEM.

I go to Kingston Point Beach frequently, when I was pregnant, and now with my child, both daytime w/lifeguards on duty, and evenings when there are no lifeguards and I am "on duty". We play in the sand, and in the water. I love the beach, and I love the river. It's peaceful and tranquil, and energizing at the same time. We pick up after ourselves, and leave "nothing but tracks". I also pick up broken glass (not mine). As far as I know, there are signs posted that no dogs are allowed on beach. The sign also says no swimming when lifeguard is not on duty. As far as common practice goes, I and many others swim at my own risk after hours. Frankly, sometimes there are more people swimming after hours than there are during posted hours. I just assume that many dog owners feel the same way about after hours...the rules are "relaxed".

Oh, wait I forgot. This comment is supposed to be on pee and poop. My son is potty training, and those swimmie diapers don't hold pee. So yeah, he definitely has peed in the water, like other children/people... and the fish...and the gulls...Have you stepped in gull poop there? or a devilhead? ouch! Lesson learned, you watch where you step, pick up your messes, and are nice to people and other creatures (and believe me, I've seen some "creatures" there!). Like anywhere in life, you have to deal with unpleasant. Try working as a waitress, or in customer service.

As for dogs, most are with owners, some not leashed , we deal with it. If I saw someone leave the dogpoop, I'd open my mouth and say something to them. If they still didn't clean it up, then I'd call the police with their license plate # and their description. "If you see something, say something!" And for those of you who think calling the police to report it is a waste of time...why bother complaining about it at all in this forum? Isn't the internet the biggest time waster of the 21st century?

Oh, one more comment. If you have never gone to the beach, or don't intend to, or have and you don't like it...Why do you care if there are dogs off leashes, pooping wildly and recklessly?

Wild and reckless pooping! That just made my day... ROFLMAO

Thanks! I think it was pretty funny too! Here's another idea...Why doesn't the original poster call the MAYOR to fix the problem? Maybe he could ride down the hill from City Hall in his pricey-golf-cart-four-wheeler-whatever-thingy, plastic bags in hand, and clean up for all the deadbeats at the beach?

Your post will probably be deleted btw. I made the comment there was pee everywhere in public anyway -- dog pee, human pee, cat pee, squirrel pee, rabbit pee, rat pee -- and someone took offense and had it removed. Too funny.

I am going to have to agree with Buford. It is so much easier to become defensive and start name calling when someone doesn't agree with your point of view. That gets us no where. As for beachgirl, thank you for your honesty... once again, even when rules are relaxed, common sense needs to kick in- taking responsibility for reckless behaviors, be it garbage left, dogs unleashed, broken glass or out of control kids should be the rule. This name calling is pointless. If you have a dog, it must be a rabid, incontinent, poop filled nightmare and clearly you have no control. And if you have kids, they must be filthy, uncontrolable, badly parented brats. None of this is fair to either party or very constructive.

I think beachgirl is also right in the sense that if you see illegal behavior, say something and/or call the police. Don't complain about these ignored laws behind the safety of an anonymous website as you sit silent and watch it happen. You are just as responsible for the continuation of the problem if you sit back and do nothing. We are all neighbors, lets try to act like it and make our community work.

The reality is that any public park or street or whatever is going to have animal urine in it whether it is dog urine, squirrel urine, rabbit urine, rat urine, cat urine. It's there. And to be quite frank, a lot of human urine. @#$% happens. It's part of life. That is why we have soap and water, and we teach our children to wash up after themselves and be aware of their surroundings. Banning dogs at the beach is not going to prevent you from being exposed to urine.

Thanks for agreeing! Listen, calling the authorities definitely helps. 2 summers ago, I "witnessed" a woman get mad at the gulls for eating the food she and her dumb-@&& friends left out while they swam. My back was to her, but I heard the commotion as she picked up bricks and threw them at the birds, hooting and hollering, and then a thunk as she hit the bird directly. You can say I "assumed" she hit the bird, because my back was to her, but then this @&&hole starts screaming at her friends "I hit him...I got him!" Who does that? I, as well as the friends I was with, was horrified and disgusted. The bird was bleeding, broken wing flapping uselessly, sitting in blood-soaked sand.

I waddled to the parking lot, as I was 7 months pregnant and did not want a confrontation with this animal abuser, God knows what she would have done to me, and called the police. A K-9 police officer from KPD showed up. I remember thinking, "Great, he will care about animals". Unfortunately, he told me he couldn't do much, because I was not a "witness", except ask her if she did it. She lied of course. I was not happy with his handling of the situation. He told me there was no crime...Animal abuse is not a crime? What if it were his dog that got hit with a brick? (and for the record, his dog did NOT poop on the beach.)

But you know what? I also flagged down a city employee who was on his lunch break, and explained the situation. This wonderful person took the time to help and called the bird expert at Forsyth Park, who came out to the beach to check on the injured bird. I called the mayors office, to ask why there were no lifeguards on duty, report the incident, boo the policeman, and express my kudos to the city employee. I got 3 phonecalls in return: one from the mayors office telling me they looked into the situation, that the lifeguards had been pulled to the city pool, and they had given the city employee a pat on the back, and 2 from the bird expert, one telling me he saw the bird that night, resting, and the other to tell me the bird was gone, either flew off to recover,or eaten by a predator, part of the circle of life I suppose.

Now, this scumbag woman, who got off scot free, never got punished for abusing an animal, or endangering wildlife, both crimes as far as I know. But I know what she did, and in some alternate universe, she will suffer a nasty fate at the hands of birds...

In return, I know I did the right thing in the situation, I did not sit back and watch it happen. I was proactive, and maybe this woman will think twice before she acts again. This is the same concept as the neighborhood watches.

We don't need the mayor or police to solve this. Dogs are not allowed on the beach or play areas (correct me if i'm wrong, I just might be). If the dog is leashed and the owner does not pick up after it, call the Dept. of Parks and tell someone. If the dog is loose, assume it is a stray (we have leash and tag laws in Kingston), and call the ASPCA to have the dog thrown in the pound. No reason to get upset. Let's use the services we already have.

Personally, I have a bigger problem with the beach not being raked. But we all have to deal with budget cuts, right?

ALL THE PROBLEMS THAT PAUL ANDREWS MENTIONED ARE THE PROBLEM OF THE DOG CONTROL OFFICER IN THE CITY. GET HIS PHONE NUMBER FROM THE CITY CLERK AND KEEP IT HANDY, IT IS HIS JOB TO HANDLE ALL THE THINGS MENTIONED. THE ASPCA WILL NOT DO ANYTHING UNLESS THE DOG IS ABUSED ..THE PARK DEPT. WILL CALL THE DCO AND A RUNNING LOOSE DOG IS THE DCO'S RESPONSIBLILTY ALSO. HE HAS A LOT OF AUTHORITY WHERE IT CONCERNS THE DOGS IN THE CITY. HE IS SWORN TO UPHOLD THE CITY AND STATE LAWS CONCERNING ALL OF THIS.

Dear Paul,
The mayor and the police ARE THE SERVICES WE ALREADY HAVE! Including the dog control officer, city clerk, ASPCA, CPS, abc, and xyz. That's why they were created.

And to everyone else - Granted, not every citizen will know who to call in a given situation, but go ahead, call or DO SOMETHING! That is the point.

and BTW, call the city and ask them to start raking the beach again. I think they are for volleyball now.

the animal control officer now patrols the beach a few times each day and has issued warning that dogs are not allowed in the swimming area of the beach
they can walk their dogs to the sides of the beach

Very cool. Thanks for the heads up, fmerg. Can we close this issue now?