SAUGUS – A Saugus woman is trying to rein in unruly dogs at Breakheart Reservation and has started a petition aimed at getting Department of Conservation and Recreation Commissioner Ed Lambert to take action.Anita Murray, of the volunteer group Friends of Breakheart Reservation, said people having been getting away with letting their dogs off-leash and not picking up after them for too long.”It’s a constant issue that keeps coming up that frustrates people who come here,” said Murray. “There’s this arrogance that, ‘We don’t care about the law, we’re going to do it.’ They know there’s nobody that can enforce it because the rangers don’t have the power and the supervisors don’t have the power.”Murray said the situation is especially frustrating because there already is a fenced-in dog park at the reservation.”A dog is supposed to be on a leash and you’re supposed to pick up after it,” said Murray, who has four Basset Hounds. “They should be on a leash whether they’re hiking on a trail or anywhere else.”Murray also noted that even though Friends of Breakheart provides doggie bags, people still don’t pick up after their pets and if they do, they sometimes leave the used bags on the ground.Saugus resident Chris Gianatassio was walking his 6-month-old Lab mix Gino recently, and said while his dog isn’t old enough to be off-leash, he thinks it should be allowed deeper in the woods and on the trails.”When he’s older on the trails I would like him to be off the leash,” said Gianatassio. “On the pathway they should be on a leash. On the trail, no leash.”Maureen Hughes said she keeps her 14-year-old Westie Terrier Nagano on a leash mostly because he’s deaf now.”He’s hiked up here since he was a baby,” said Hughes. “I won’t take him off now because he’s deaf and won’t come back. But not everyone likes dogs. If they’re not friendly, they should definitely be on a leash. I’ve had two encounters here with dogs that aren’t friendly both on and off leash. So you never know.”Hughes said she understands the reason behind the petition, but noted she likely wouldn’t support it.”You also have to have responsible dog owners,” said Hughes.When it comes to picking up after dogs, Hughes said people need to do more to keep the park clean.”It’s gross,” said Hughes. “There are barrels you can throw it in.”Two used dog bags could be seen along the main path at Breakheart during a recent visit there.Saugus resident Matt Morris, a dog owner, acknowledged Murray has a legitimate safety concern.”Dogs should be on a leash because it’s dangerous,” said Morris. “Not everybody knows everybody’s dog.”Marc Daley said he likes dogs, but after walking through Breakheart for several years, he said he has come across dogs that weren’t so friendly.”They snap at you and a couple of times they’ve gone after me in a threatening manner,” said Daley. “There’s always going to be one or two that will act like that when they’re not leashed. It’s not a big deal to have them on a leash. It’s for protection.”Murray’s petition can be found on thepetitionsite.com. So far there are just 20 signatures, but Murray said she’s hoping for 500 to send a loud message to the DCR.”Somebody has to force the DCR to do something,” said Murray. “They have to put something in place that gives authority to these people to actually write tickets that are actually enforceable. It’s not acceptable anymore. It’s getting far too dangerous and it’s unhealthy. I won’t even walk my dogs in Breakheart.”Matt Tempesta can be reached at [email protected].