To the gentleman who said he wants dogs to run free: We have a dog park for that.”

Police Chief Thomas Lee

PORTSMOUTH — Sure, you can let your dog roam free at Melville Park. Just make sure Fido’s inside the Portsmouth Dog Park whenever he’s off leash.

A proposal to amend the town’s leash laws in public parks so that dogs can run free throughout Melville Park — but outside the campgrounds — was unanimously defeated by the Town Council Monday night.

The dog park, which opened in May 2017, is located on Smith Road within town-owned Melville Park.

Edward Rizy, chairman of the Melville Park Committee, said while the dog park is great, it would be nice if dogs were allowed “to run free and explore and sniff and smell along the trails” in the surrounding park.

He suggested the town clerk’s office issue special permits to owners who agreed to take certain precautions such as using muzzles on their dogs and keeping their pets close to them while walking.

According to Mr. Rizy, one of the reasons the committee proposed the idea is because one local resident is going to the park and “trying to take the law into their own hands, taking photographs and recording license plates” of owners who are walking their dogs without a leash along the trails.

Mr. Rizy found no support for the proposal, however.

Animal Control Officer Elizabeth Futoma said the department issued 137 citations for leash law violations over the past 27 months. Unleashed dogs, she said, often cause problems with other dogs that are on leashes, as well as their owners or other people walking nearby. 

From 2017 to 2018, she said, there were 109 reported dog bites in Portsmouth. “Thirty-one of those bites involved a loose canine … so it’s not insignificant,” said Officer Futoma, who must inspect rabies vaccination records for every incident. She added the dog muzzles aren’t always effective.

Police Chief Thomas Lee also spoke against the proposal. He recalled an incident a couple of years ago in which an unleashed, 75-pound German shepherd knocked a woman to the ground. 

“She said the worst part was the cluelessness of the owners,” said Chief Lee, who added that “all sorts of issues” can result when an unleashed dog approaches another dog that’s restrained. 

“To the gentleman who said he wants dogs to run free: We have a dog park for that,” the chief said.

‘Already a problem’

Local resident Tom Grieb, who lives 200 feet from Melville Park, also opposed any exception to the leash laws, saying unleashed dogs are “already a problem” at Melville. He was almost knocked down by one unleashed pet and kept at bay by two other growling dogs before their owner restrained them, he said.  

“My 3-year-old grandson was knocked over, hard, by a black Lab who was chasing a bird. My grandson, whose first word was ‘dog,’ is now afraid of dogs,” Mr. Grieb said.

He also pointed out that Melville Park is only partially fenced; there are several breaches throughout and unleashed dogs could end up on West Main Road, contaminated Navy property or in the campground, he said.

Town Council President Kevin Aguiar said the exception, if approved, would create a lot more work for Officer Futoma “and create chaos at the town clerk’s office.” 

Council member J. Mark Ryan said the trails at Melville are already uneven; adding unleashed dogs to the mix would create an additional hazard to hikers, especially elderly people who can be knocked over easily by a loose animal.

The council voted 6-0 to deny the request. (Council member Leonard Katzman did not attend Monday’s meeting.)