Allan Appel Photo
Stephen Listro with Bella and Zoe.
Jack the Golden Retriever, Bella the Border Collie mix, and Lilly, a Rottweiler mix, strained on their leashes on the cement behind Conte-West Hills School instead of cavorting on the field. Doggie droppings led the school to keep kids inside for gym — and lock the field gate to neighbors.
The lockout began last week. It has sparked a dispute between Wooster Square dog owners and school officials. The officials have stopped a longstanding practice of allowing neighborhood doggies to run wild on the field. Apparently, some dog poop was getting left behind, which caused an an ongoing health threat to the kids.
Conte Principal Dianne Spence said Thursday she acted after kids started coming home with poop on their clothes. Gym teachers stopped using the field for classes. Parents and teachers were complaining.
“I want the children to go outside,” she said.
As tensions have risen in the dispute, neighborhood Alderman Michael Smart has stepped in it, as it were.
On May 19, Wooster Square residents got an explanation, in the form of an email from Alderman Smart. He wrote that despite three years of attempts to accommodate the dog owners— in the form of leaflets, posting signs, and popper-scooper stations — the poop problem persisted.
In the email, Smart called the dog owners’ activities a “reckless disregard for the well-being” of the kids. He stood by the school principal’s decision to close the spacious fenced field to dog owners. He concluded: “There are many places throughout the neighborhood for dog owners to exercise their pets, but there is only one field for the school kids to play in.”
Linda Reeder shot off a reply to Smart.
Reeder praised his concern for school kids but accused him of spreading misinformation. No poop bags were ever provided, she said, and the single trash can on the field was removed. Dog owners were throwing away the poop responsibly, Reeder claimed.
She said owners were particularly hurt by being accused of “reckless disregard” because in April, on their own, they had done a post-winter clean up of the park that went “well beyond picking up poops.”
Jack, Bella & Lilly, and their owners.
With his Australian Shepherd, Zoe, at his side, Stephen Listro said in a conversation Wednesday that he had repaired the black chain link fence in spots, removed decaying recycled hay and other detritus left on the field from school events, and removed many shards of broken glass and beer bottles.
Reeder said while there might be a minority of owners who don’t behave well, Smart’s “generalized accusations and incorrect facts show a disrespect for the many responsible dog owners.”
Principal Spence Thursday agreed that only a minority of dog owners create the problem.
None of the dog-walkers had received a response from Smart. Listro said that Smart, who lives nearby, might have at least come over at some point before the shut-down to meet the dog owners and discuss alternatives.
Some places have hired a private company to ID scofflaws by examining doggy doo DNA: click here for a This American Life report on that topic.
On Wednesday, Listra said of Zoe, “She drags me here every day. I tell her, ‘You can’t go in any more. I’m trying.’”
He meant in part that he’d called Principal Spence, to try for a compromise. The dog owners use the field early only in the morning, before work, and in the evening, he said.
“This is not intended at responsible dog owners,” Alderman Smart said when reached for comment. He reiterated that the principal and many parents are worried about health problems. He stood by the principal’s decision, saying the kids need to go out and be able to play in a clean field.
As to whether signs were put up, pooper scooper bags provided and garbage cans added, Smart said, “I don’t want to get into a ‘he said, she said.’”
He did acknowledge that “the majority are being punished for sins of the minority.”
Reeder said, “He portrayed us wanting children to play in feces.”
She and the others want to work out a partnership with the school to include regular patrolling, in which the responsible dog owners to pick up after the irresponsible ones. In exchange, they’d get access to the field.
Jeremy Staub & Jack.
Suzanne Friedbacher, Bella’s owner, offered two possibilities at other grassy fields: create an exclusive dog park out of the playground behind the adjacent Polly McCabe School, which the dog owners volunteered to spiff up. Or dedicate a portion of Lenzi Park on the far side of Green Street for off-leash dogs.
The closing of the field is a special disappointment to Jeremy Staub, who said he and his pet moved to Wooster Square from Fairfield after checking out the dog amenities. While he has plenty of places to walk Jack on the leash, as Smart noted in his email, only the informal arrangement at the school field gave the animals an opportunity to freely socialize.
Friedbacher said it was also an important opportunity for people to socialize — and a lot do, according to these owners. She estimated about 20 people had used the field behind Conte-West Hills and Polly McCabe daily before and after school hours.
Listro said the area has lots of dogs. His condo building, on Hughes and Green Street, has about 14 to 16 dogs among 34 units. Friedbacher’s 12-unit building boasts four dogs. Staub, who lives in the Smoothie Building, estimates two to three dozen dogs in residence.
He said to his knowledge no public park in New Haven currently allows dogs to be off-leash, outside of designated dog areas like the one at Edgewood Park.
The outcome Reeder wants: “We could organize a clean up on a routine/regular schedule in exchange for access as it was.” Listro immediately volunteered to be the coordinator.
“I’m having my aide look at some sites,” Smart said. “Once we come up with alternatives, we’ll make a decision to move forward. This is not against dog owners. I fight for my community and it’s a balance. Sometimes that balance doesn’t always work out.”
Principal Spence said she, too, is open to working out a compromise with the neighborhood. In the meantime, Conte has a field day scheduled for June 9. She intends to have a poop-free field for it take place on.