City to dog owners: Paws off Pine Grove

LYNN – Dog lovers caught with their pooches in Pine Grove Cemetery face fines up to $175 or more under a crackdown that saw one local resident and his canine endure a warning but avoid a fine Wednesday.City Animal Control Officer Keith Sheppard spotted Edward Bertwell preparing to walk out of Pine Grove onto Winthrop Street with his son’s dog, Happy, and stopped him.Standing yards away from a “no dogs allowed” sign tacked to a tree, Bertwell listened as Sheppard warned him about walking in the cemetery with a dog and not being in possession of Happy’s city license or rabies vaccination record.He tallied up a $125 potential fine for Bertwell but issued the Lynn resident a warning and said he will check on Happy’s dog license status in 10 days.”If he’s not licensed, the only one responsible is you,” Sheppard said.The tough talk underscores concerns by cemetery officials about an increase in dog owners violating a prohibition on dogs inside the 85-acre city cemetery. City Assistant Superintendent Jeff Stowell said dogs walkers are becoming more frequent inside Pine Grove. Some, like Bertwell, keep their animals on a leash and bring a bag to pick up droppings.Others do not retrieve animal waste – like the pile Sheppard stepped in on his way to cite Bertwell.”We have had people step in excrement at funerals,” said Pine Grove Cemetery Commission Chairman Arthur Dulong.Stowell and Sheppard said dog owners who have previously received warnings from cemetery workers about dogs inside Pine Grove can expect tickets and fines for future violations. Sheppard said fines include $50 for flaunting the dog prohibition as well as not carrying a dog license, no rabies vaccination certificate, unrestrained dog, and “no means to pick up feces.”All told, the penalties add up to a $175 fine.”The time for warnings is over,” Sheppard said.Stowell said people should remember Pine Grove, where more than 90,000 people are buried, is a place of respect and remembrance. Burials take place on a regular basis and families – including ones who have suffered recent losses – come to Pine Grove to mourn.”There’s nothing worse than seeing dog tracks running through a recent grave,” Stowell said.He said cemetery workers “chased people out” in past years but did not seek to fine dog ban violators, but he said the increase in dogs spotted in Pine Grove and complaints from people visiting loved ones’ graves helped spur the crackdown.He said some dog owners drive into the cemetery, open a car door, and let their dogs run free across graves while they drive along Pine Grove’s lanes attempting to keep an eye on their pets.”It’s just getting to be a little ridiculous,” Stowell said.Dulong said the city’s Barkland dog park is located across from Pine Grove with plenty of space for large and small dogs to run and frolic.Sheppard said dog owners he has questioned and warned inside Pine Grove typically tell him they have walked their dogs in the cemetery for years without being challenged by a city worker.”It’s a habit – everyone knows it but they still do it,” echoed Bertwell.