An incident inside a Little League baseball field last week has led Barrington officials to propose a law change that will ban dogs from ballfields in town. 

The specific language of the amended ordinance states that dogs shall not be allowed “on any Town-owned park or recreation area during any time that such park or recreation area has been approved by the Town for use by any sports league, group, or other association.”

Currently, the ordinance only prohibits dogs from the Doug Rayner Wildlife Refuge at Nockum Hill and from town-operated beaches from Memorial Day weekend through Labor Day.

The proposed amendment, which will be introduced at the town council meeting on May 5, was signed by Barrington Town Council President Braxton Cloutier and filed on Tuesday, April 29, five days after a Barrington Little League baseball coach was allegedly threatened and verbally attacked by a man walking his dog. 

The coach was cleaning up after a Little League game at Chianese Field at about 8 p.m., when the dog-walker entered the fenced-in area. According to a police report, the coach asked the man to keep his dog off the field, as the league has had issues in the past with dog feces left on fields and holes dug into the playing surface. Police said the dog-walker, holding a bat, approached the coach and yelled at him. The man allegedly swore at the coach and told him he did not own the field. 

A follow-up report revealed that the dog-walker allegedly put his hands on the coach in an effort to move him aside and close a gate at the fenced-in field so he could let his dog run off-leash inside the ballfield. 

Barrington Police Chief Michael Correia said officers searched the area for the suspect, who was at the field with another person and a golden retriever. Police did not find the dog-walker, and have increased patrols around ballfields in Barrington. 

The proposed ordinance amendment will not likely be discussed at the Barrington Town Council meeting on Monday, May 5, as the item is only scheduled for introduction. 

The language of the amendment does not specify whether it would prohibit people from bringing their dogs to an athletic field in town while watching their children play a game. It also does not detail whether dogs would be barred from walking on-leash on the fields when they are not in-use. 

According to an email from the Barrington Little League board of directors, the town recently installed signs prohibiting dogs on athletic fields. 

“If you see people using our ballfields - or any athletic field - as an off-leash dog park or if you see someone being abusive or making threats toward a coach, player, or anyone else, please report it immediately to Barrington Police Dispatch (401-437-3935),” stated the BLL email. 

In an interview on Thursday, May 1, Barrington Town Manager Phil Hervey confirmed that while signs recently installed at Barrington athletic fields state “No Dogs Allowed in Athletic Field Areas,” current laws only prohibit dogs from being on fields without a leash. 

When asked if the proposed amendment would prohibit families from bringing their dogs on-leash to children’s sports games, Hervey said “There’s always room for how you enforce something.”