The purpose of this petition is to request that the Westwood Conservation Commission remove the recent signs they have posted at Lowell Woods, and hold a public hearing regarding dog walking rules that will be applied. The date and time of the hearing should be posted on the bulletin boards at Lowell Woods such that all interested parties will be allowed to express their views.

Background:

For decades the residents of Westwood and the surrounding towns have harmoniously walked their dogs on and off leash in Lowell Woods – the only area in Westwood that did not require dogs be kept on leash. About a year or so ago, a sign was posted directing that dogs be kept on leash or under control -- a commonsense approach rule for the use of Lowell Woods.

A small number of people have objected to the behavior of professional dog walkers in Lowell Woods and made numerous complaints to the Police Department. Having failed to drive the dog walkers out of Lowell Woods, they took their complaints to the Conservation Commission. Their efforts led to policy changes in the dog walking rules at Westwood Conservation properties including Lowell Woods: no one can walk more than two dogs, nor ever let their dogs off leash.

The Conservation Commission held two meetings in which new rules for dog walking were discussed: June 12th, 2023 and November 8th, 2023, each advertised in the local paper with no mention that dog walking rules were being discussed.

At the first meeting, Conservation Agent Catrone stated that she has had a lot of complaints about commercial dog walkers, Westwood Police Officer Chris Sheehy said that it has become a big problem. Only one Westwood resident spoke and stated that “he walked in Lowell Woods for many years but is no longer able to due to commercial dog walkers”. The meeting notes document no questions being asked of Ms. Catrone to clarify whether a small number of people had lodged a large number of complaints or if a large number of people had complained. Similarly, Officer Sheehy did not clarify why it had become a “very big problem”, and was not asked to do so. I know that the Westwood Police received numerous complaints about professional dog walkers from one individual.

It is clear from the minutes of the meeting that the rules now subsequently posted at Lowell Woods had already been prepared and presented for the approval of the Board. There was one significant difference from the sign that was later built and posted: there was no mention of the line directing residents to “Call 781-320-1000 promptly to report any violations to the Westwood Police Department”

At the second meeting, Ms. Catrone presented for adoption substantially the same dog walking rules as the first meeting with two changes: 1) the language about calling the Westwood Police was now included, and 2) it now directed Commercial Dog Walkers to carry a valid “Commercial Dog-Walker Permit” issued by the “Westwood Conservation Agent” (Ms. Catrone). The only Westwood resident that spoke at the meeting was the same individual that spoke at the first meeting. 

Again, at the meeting, the Conservation Committee members asked no questions (as documented in the meeting notes). The Board simply took a vote approving Ms. Catrone’s proposed rules.

What are the problems with the new rules and how they were developed?

1) They encourage people to report their fellow dog walkers to the Westwood Police for any violations of the Conservation Commission's rules and regulations. By doing so, they are implying that these are violations of the law; in point of fact, they are not violations of Westwood’s laws, and the Conservation Commission is well aware of this. The meeting minutes note Officer Sheehy’s statement to them that “the current dog laws do not require dogs to be on a leash.” My understanding is that now an effort is being made to make it illegal to ever have your dog off leash anywhere in Westwood. 

2) By limiting the number of dogs that can be legally walked (to two), the rule effectively bans Commercial Dog Walkers from using Lowell Woods to walk Westwood residents’ dogs; Commercial Dog Walkers cannot profitably operate walking two dogs at a time. This will result in Westwood’s dogs being taken to the surrounding towns for exercise, etc. Furthermore, Westwood residents that legally have more than two dogs will not be allowed to walk them altogether.

3) Lowell Woods was the only publicly owned land in Westwood where dog owners were allowed to walk their dogs off leash. If someone objects to seeing dogs off leash, there are many places where they can walk – for example Hale, where the rules prohibit dogs being off leash, or Sen Ki, where dogs are prohibited.

4) The Notices that were posted in the newspaper made no mention that dog walking rules were going to be discussed. The only Westwood resident that spoke at both meetings was one complaining about commercial dog walkers. This raises two questions: How did he know to attend these meetings? In the interest of transparency and good government, why was a notice not posted on the bulletin boards of Lowell Woods so that all of those affected by the new rules could attend the meeting and offer their input?

5) Posting a sign with a comprehensive set of rules encouraging people to report each other to the Police if any violations are detected will only increase conflicts, not reduce them as should be the intent.

6) If the dog walking rules were to be changed, all of the stakeholders should have the opportunity to provide their input and ideas. This would result in a better, more fair and equitable solution.

My wife and I have been walking our dogs in Lowell Woods twice a day, seven days a week for ten years. We know virtually everyone that walks using the Sandy Valley entrance, and the vast majority know us and our dogs. In our experience it is wonderful community of people who walk dogs (mostly off leash). Those who have aggressive dogs invariably keep them leashed and generally warn that their dogs are not friendly. In those ten years, I have never had any issues with our dogs being attacked.

I am aware that there are two people that have had on-going personal battles with professional dog walkers and apparently made it their mission to drive the them out of Lowell Woods. Reading the notes from the June 14th and November 8th meetings, it is readily apparent that the complaint was about commercial dog walkers with out of control dogs. It is hard to understand how this morphed into a complete overhaul of rules concerning dogs being walked in Lowell Woods.

It is hypocritical for a wealthy town like Westwood that has numerous residents using professional dog walkers to effectively ban them from our towns’ property and force them to bring them to other towns for exercise, etc.

If the residents of Westwood do not speak up and make their voices heard, a law making it illegal to have your dog off leash will be developed and potentially passed. If you care about these rules and object to a small number of people’s complaints resulting in such rules being imposed on all of us, demand that your voice be heard and sign this petition.