DOGS ALLOWED: Back on Barnstable Beaches… where they belong… [HN...

HN NOTES: Pursuant to the previous town manager’s anti-dog regulations carried over to this day, between May 15th and September 15th, dogs are strictly prohibited from being on or anywhere near a public town beach.

Dogs are not even allowed to sit inside the car with you in the beach parking lot, even if the windows are rolled up, listening to the local morning talk show, AC blaring, enjoying your “lahge regulah” from Dunks… (which, if it isn’t already, should be a Constitutional Right IMHO…)

Rather than enforcing public leash laws and animal waste laws, targeting individual offenders, our previous “town manager” (a position not directly voted on by town residents), decided to ban everyone which, after all, seems to now be the classic draconian Barnstable way.

So, between May 15th and September 15th , dog owners and their little fur babies are punished. Prevented from doing something as benign as going for a walk along the shore…

(… a shore that very shortly shouldn’t have one plastic grocery bag, because they banned them too. Those bags were awesome for picking up dog poop, just saying.)

Note to non-elected “town management,” there are a lot of things that need to be prevented and improved upon around here; punishing responsible citizens and their beloved pets is not and should not be on that list.

Here’s an idea, work on attracting healthy families to our town by making Barnstable into an enterprise friendly community which attracts job-rich businesses, instead of what it is now, an outpatient ward for state funded special interest industries…

… but once again, I digress.

Today, I cannot express how pleasant it was seeing responsible dog owners out enjoying Craigville Beach once again… as they should.

HN arrived to take some photos of dogs and their humans returning to the sandy shoreline, and I hit the mother lode! There also happened to be a dog festival going on to help raise money for the Cold Noses Foundation!

And because I don’t go anywhere without my furry friend (and at least one camera – which is an entirely different issue which I’ll let slide for right now… 😉 ) I was finally once again allowed and able to enjoy the beach for the first time since the May 15th dog ban, while also taking plenty of unimpeded photos!

Days like today are the reason many of us stick it out around here. And today especially, if one raised a sandy Cape conch shell to one’s ear, listening intently, background waves crashing, individuals laughing, puppies frolicking, any true dog lover would clearly hear a faint whisper, “this is still America, alas, don’t let them take this away from you too.”

Have a safe and splendiferous week my dear dog lovin’ HyTonians! 😉

9/18/2016

Robert Bastille

CLICK here to ‘like’ and follow HN on Facebook

Follow @NewsHyannis

Today’s HyTown Vignette is brought to you by a Bobby Dylan cover… [Paw that play button]

If Dogs Run Free

If dogs run free, then why not we
Across the swooping plain?
My ears hear a symphony
Of two mules, trains and rain
The best is always yet to come
That’s what they explain to me
Just do your thing, you’ll be king
If dogs run free

If dogs run free, why not me
Across the swamp of time?
My mind weaves a symphony
And tapestry of rhyme
Oh, winds which rush my tale to thee
So it may flow and be
To each his own, it’s all unknown
If dogs run free

If dogs run free, then what must be
Must be, and that is all
True love can make a blade of grass
Stand up straight and tall
In harmony with the cosmic sea
True love needs no company
It can cure the soul, it can make it whole
If dogs run free