Be A Responsible Dog Owner

To the Editor:

When I was contemplating getting a dog, one of the cons would be cleaning up the yard. One of the pros was going for walks and getting exercise. I decided the pros outweighed the cons and got a dog.

The dog and I go for walks along the trail on the Fairfield Hills campus. It was disheartening to read the article “Pick up After Your Pet, Officials Stress” about dog owners not cleaning up after their dog at Fairfield Hills. It is unfortunate that a few bad apples spoil the bunch. This has seemed to be a common theme on community walking trails and dogs are being banned.

The impact goes deeper than just being able to take a walk with your dog. The Friends of the Newtown Park and Bark will be having the third annual Strutt Your Mutt on May 19 at the Fairfield Hills Campus. The event is for people and their dogs going for a walk on the campus, dog-related vendors and activities. More importantly, the event is to raise money for the Newtown Dog Park. Fairfield Hills has been the site for the dog park fundraisers on several occasions.

Be a responsible dog owner and pick up after your dog. The next time you go to keep on walking, remember the community volunteers’ efforts to bring a dog park to Newtown and the other owners that want to continue walking their dogs at Fairfield Hills. By the way, once Newtown has a dog park, you will have to clean up after your dog at the park, too.

Janice Butler

31 Rock Ridge Road, Newtown                                      April 15, 2012