Dear Editor:
“Your dog stepped on the dirt,” the unidentified man yelled as he approached me last week in Church Square Park. He was referring to my four-pound teacup Yorkshire Terrier, who was walking for his usual morning stroll through the park, stepped on a block of dirt surrounding the outside of one of the rows of bushes. This man, who did not provide any credentials, then pulled out his cell phone and said he was calling the police, while shouting at me to provide him with my name. Needless to say, I did not oblige. Apparently, there is a new set of canine rules in Church Square Park. A dog may only walk in the park to and from the fenced-in dog area. And, this man will watch your dog (and you) to make sure your dog does not ‘step out of line.’ I went back to the park with my dog today, and ‘the man’ was watching. From behind the gazebo, he stepped out, his eyes following the ominous pitter-patter of my dog’s tiny steps. I tried my best to keep my dog from stepping on the dirt, but then he stepped on some dirt in the middle of the concrete path. I wondered if that counted.
But I will never know, because when I turned around to look back at ‘the man,’ his eyes were focused on another dog owner. This dog was much larger than mine, as was his owner. Apparently, ‘the man’ set his sights on the wrong owner this time. The verbal exchange quickly progressed to an angry level of shouting that caused people all over the park to turn and look. Again, I heard threats of “calling the police” and “I want your name.” With each new threat, the dog owner only yelled louder. It was not pretty.
So, beware, Hoboken is not the dog-friendly town we once knew. And now the town is hiring individuals to secure their parks who are unprofessional, threatening and abusive. The question that therefore now begs to be asked, “Who is really out of line?”
Anonymous