DCR: Saugus out of bounds on dog tickets

SAUGUS-The Board of Selectmen agreed to allow Breakheart Reservation employees to ticket errant dog owners inside the state park but the Department of Conservation and Recreation has decided otherwise.Wendy Fox of DCR said she understood the concerns regarding dog issues in the park but the town overstepped its boundaries.”What they essentially wanted to do is to deputize state employees,” she said. “Under Massachusetts state law, municipal bylaws do not extend to state land.”It was Oct. 1 that the Board of Selectmen voted to grant Breakheart Reservation Supervisor Anthony Guthro and Manager William Dalton the power to ticket wayward dog owners within the park. The vote was an attempt to help out the park that has long been plagued by patrons who let their dogs off leash and fail to clean up after them.”We do take this seriously,” Fox said.But, she added, municipalities don’t have the jurisdiction to have state employees on the state payroll perform duties other than their official jobs.Ed Murray, chairman of the Friends of Breakheart, said the ruling amounted to a total lack of respect.”If we called in a fire they would send a fire truck,” he said. “But we tell them people are being attacked by unleashed animals and they do nothing. That’s unconscionable.”Murray said three-quarters of the phone calls and e-mails he receives are concerning dog issues.”People are afraid to walk in the park because the word is out – you can come to Breakheart and let your dog off leash and nothing will happen,” he said.Fox said the state is studying how best to handle the dog issues not just in the park but also in regards to all municipal property.”We do understand this is a big issue,” she said.Selectman Peter Rossetti said that’s all well and good but what do they do in the meantime. He said the town tried to address what has become a chronic problem in Breakheart, it was shot down and he can only wonder what’s next.”We tried, we proposed other things to do,” he said. “The question is what do we do instead because the next time something happens it will be (DCR’s) rear end on the line.”