That was a really tense moment.  There were nearly 600 people in the
gymnasium for the Town Meeting.  Voters voted by raising a special red
card.  When the vote in favor of the amendment to add two more months
when dogs are not allowed on Singing Beach was called, the room was a
sea of red.  There was a man sitting with me in the visitor section--a
resident, but not a voter, who owns an "ancient" lab mix--and he
looked at me and said, "We just lost two months."

When the vote in opposition to the amendment was called, it was clear
that it was going to be close.  I held my breath until the official
numbers were announced

We really can lose (or gain!) privileges to enjoy public open space
together withour dogs by a matter of ten votes.  We serve ourselves by
being involved in the civic life of our communities: Be a responsible
dog owner, and advocate for the rights of responsible dog owners!

Cheers,
Michele

P.S. The best way to keep people from proposing legislation to ban
dogs is 1) to clean up after our dogs every time and 2) to NEVER allow
our dogs to greet anyone who has not asked specifically to meet them.
Seriously, until a person has proven her- or himself dog-friendly by
asking to meet my dog, I assume that if I let Strummer approach that
person, she or he will introduce anti-dog legislation at the first
opportunity.  By waiting for people to ask to meet my dog, my
experience is that everyone I meet likes my dog!

On Apr 8, 5:34 pm, s1702 <samorti...@comcast.net> wrote: