Introduction

It’s vital for everyone who walks a dog at Kent’s Point to understand that there are forces in the Town of Orleans permanently arrayed against us, playing a long game to ban dogs from the area. If we want to be able to enjoy the property, we have to blunt their criticisms, from the most valid ones to the most far-fetched and unreasonable. Here are some simple land use guidelines that can secure our ability to use the area in the years to come:

Habitat Areas

The most crucial thing we need to do is to stay out of, and keep our dogs out of, the habitat areas. The LEC Environmental Assessment states, on page 19:

Absent of policy changes [sic], keeping recreational users and dogs on authorized trails is paramount to the protection of wildlife and wildlife habitat (off-trail).

www.town.orleans.ma.us/DocumentCenter/View/8364/6-Kents-Point-Environmental-Assessment

 

To me, this looks like the likely launching pad for the next attack on dog owners. Pointing to instances of incursions into the habitat areas, our opponents will say, “we really tried to accommodate the dog owners, but it just doesn’t work.” Let’s not let them run this play, and let’s support the intention of the habitat areas, which is to give plants and animals a safe area to thrive.

The habitat area to the right as one walks out to the point is pretty well marked off and barricaded. However, the area along Frostfish Cove, on the left, is marked only by the fencing along the main trail. It’s possible to enter that area at either end without ever having walked by the signs on the fencing. Hence, this area is currently a bit of a trap. Especially given the refusal of the Town to educate visitors at the parking lot, some people are going to wander into it. Please don’t be one of them, and don’t hesitate to educate someone if you see them there. If you don’t want to have a whole conversation, just point them to this webpage. (You could even copy the QR code at the bottom of this page and have it available to show them so they can scan it from your phone.) Over time, we should be able to reduce stray incursions to near zero.

There’s a bit of a similar situation at the main beach area, where if you walk to the right as you face the water, you head towards the first habitat area, as well as the fragile banks. It’s best to stay away from. that area, so you don’t get reported (even photographed, perhaps), and so you don’t model entering it.

Cliff and Banks

These areas are delicate. Not only do we need to stay off of them, but we need to keep our dogs off of them. I have a small dog who isn’t going to impact a bank if he goes onto it, but I still keep him off to avoid feeding the narrative of canine-related environmental destruction, and to avoid modeling the behavior. If your dog is going to head down to the water at the first opportunity, either choose a different path or keep your dog on leash until you get to the beach.

“Rogue” Trails

To avoid carving the area with many unsightly and potentially erosion-causing trails, stay on the three main trails and the few main crossovers.

Marsh Grass

While the biggest source of damage to the marsh grass is actually erosion from runoff, we damage it when we walk on it, and our dogs can do a little damage by running on it, especially when playing with other dogs and turning around a lot. So, it’s important to stay off of it and to guide our dogs away from it. Also, balls should not be thrown into it for dogs to chase down.

Holes

This should be pretty obvious, but if your dog digs a hole, you need to fill it in. Holes are tripping hazards, and that's an especially big issue when you have the occasional parent walking around with an infant strapped to their chest. An infant in a front-facing carrier blocks the carrying parent's visibility of the trail near the parent's feet, making tripping more likely, and will act as a shock absorber when mom or dad lands on top of them. If you know your dog likes to dig holes, be a little more vigilant, so it doesn't happen while you're not looking.

 

Aggressive Dogs

The culture at Kent’s Point does not support the presence of aggressive dogs. Moreover, under Massachusetts law, dog owners are strictly liable for any and all injuries caused by their dogs – no limits, and no excuses.

 

https://malegislature.gov/Laws/GeneralLaws/PartI/TitleXX/Chapter140/Section155

 

So, it’s not in your interest to show up someplace where your dog may end up causing harm because other people aren’t controlling their dogs as tightly as your dog needs them to, or because your dog is liable to get triggered by human behavior.

 

Big Dogs Playing

While I don't worry much about lone dogs crashing into me, when dogs play they get less mindful of their surroundings. So, when larger dogs play, I take myself out of the immediate zone. Like others who walk at Kent's Point regularly, I accept the need to do that occasionally. However, our culture of acceptance doesn't override (1) the moral obligation to keep others reasonably safe, (2) the legal consequences if we don't, as described above, or (3) the political backlash when someone gets hurt. In my judgment, big dogs should not romp on either one of the narrower trails, where they can surprise someone coming around a corner, in a tight space where there isn't a lot of room to maneuver. 

 

I know that a handful of dog walkers are tempted to brush off this responsiilty with "anyone who doesn't like it should walk elsewhere." However, that's not written on a tablet handed down by God. It's an attitude, probably largely resulting from the lore that Mrs. Kent "wanted the dogs to run free," and it has the potential to do a lot of harm if we don't adjust it.

 

Courtesy

In a related vein, one of the reasons there is so much hostility about dog walking is that over the years, some dog walkers have scoffed at people who asked them to restrain their dogs around them, answering with statements such as “you shouldn’t be here if you’re not walking a dog.” The deed to Kent’s Point does not establish the area as a dog park.

www.town.orleans.ma.us/DocumentCenter/View/7827/1988-Kents-Point-Deed

Dogs can be off-leash solely because of 85-2 of the Orleans Bylaws, which does not require leashing:

All dogs shall be restrained or under the control of a responsible person at all times while off the premises of its owner.  https://ecode360.com/14198514

That doesn’t mean that dogs should be able to run wild, and the bigger the dog, the more of an issue that is. So, if someone is uncomfortable because your dog is in their personal space, just be courteous about it, the way you would be if you were in someone’s way at the supermarket and they asked you to step aside so they could grab a cantaloupe. Don’t feed the flames of resentment.

Dogs in Heat

Not in anyone's best interest. I will leave it at that.

 

Driving Slowly

In the same vein, I've spoken to a lot of people who, like myself, find the signs on Keziah's annoying, and "non-sympathy-inducing." Be that as it may, though, the residents do have a legal right to set the 10 mph limit, and the road is somewhat treacherous, so there's no reason why we should speed. This little gesture of respect and accommodation can be helpful in defusing the general atmosphere, while also reducing the risk of a mishap.

Barking

Occasionally, for one reason or another, dogs will end up in the parking lot, barking for a while. This has to be a bit challenging for the immediate neighbors, who have probably experienced a bit of this every day for decades by now. The solution is simple: either put doggie in the car, or head down the trail. Again, this is a simple gesture of respect and accommodation, which, over time, can help create a different kind of social dynamic.

Dog Poop

Think about whether your dog is likely to poop when you walk. If so, keep your eyes on your dog until the time comes, and then pick it up. While dropping a bag and picking it up later isn’t a huge deal if you’re absolutely going to get it on the way back, it’s a bad “look” to have bags on the trails, and if you forget and no one comes along and rescues the bag, there is a chance that a fox could eat the bag overnight, which of course can be fatal to the fox. So, consider bring a fanny pack or something else to carry the bag if you don’t enjoy carrying it in your hand. (I tie mine to my leash handle.) Also, picking up any bag you see that looks like it might have been forgotten (as when the area is pretty much empty) is a helpful thing to do. 

Conclusion

All we really need from visitors to Kent’s Point is some mindfulness about the area’s vulnerabilities, and the fact that it has a conservation purpose as well as a recreation purpose. (That duality is inherent in the concept of "open space.") When we act mindfully, we model that for others. If we’re willing to educate others nicely, we should be able to reduce harmful behaviors to very small and sustainable levels, thereby protecting the land while depriving anti-dog crusaders of ammunition to use against us.

I'm confident that we can do this if we put our minds to it. Let’s make it so.