Increase in Dog-Related Incidents at Bare Cove Park

Dog owners who take advantage of the natural beauty and relaxed atmosphere of Bare Park Cove to walk their dogs may find themselves out of luck if they fail to either control their pets or neglect to tidy up after them.

On Tuesday, the Board of Selectmen heard a plea for help from the Bare Park Cove Committee due to an increase in incidents this year that involved uncontrolled or unleashed dogs. The Committee informed the Selectmen that there have been more dog bite incidents then in previous years including a prominent local politician (who was not named) who was bitten while riding a bike.  Although most of these bites are not reported to the Police, there is a genuine concern for the safety of other park users.

Failure to pick up dog waste is another problem that has led to the Committee reconsidering the best way to enforce a long-standing park rule. Patti Coyle, Vice-Chair of the Committee doesn’t want to introduce a set of draconian measures but unless the situation improves, there seems to be little option.

“The amount of people who don’t obey our rules, who scare people, who don’t pick up after their dog are starting to force the committee to reach out for help,” Coyle said. 

Bare Cove Park is well known around town as the most popular Hingham park to walk dogs.  The park even has statues of dogs in the garden of the park.

“We’ve tried the direct approach, we’ve been stern, we’ve been friendly and we’ve tried being reasonable,” advised Coyle,  “It’s a beautiful place but it’s not a dog-park.”

The Committee has drawn up a set of guidelines to ensure that Bare Cove can continue to welcome canines (and their owners). These included an increase in the amount of time that Animal Control are present in the park, increased signage within the borders of the park, educating owners on dog etiquette and enforcing the park’s rules with fines, if necessary.

John Riley, Chairman of Selectmen, asked if there was a regulation to prohibit dogs from the park altogether but the Committee felt additional signage and visibility of park rules would help the situation considerably. 

Ted Alexiades, Town Administrator, advised the Selectmen that the first step would be to see if the additional guidelines suggested by the Committee were in conjunction with the Town’s bye-laws and that they should take the matter under advisement for discussion at a later date.

“We like to have a dialogue once in a while with these committees to find out where they’re at and where they’re going,” said Riley. “It lets us see if they are in tune with the people that appoint them.”