Zach here is having a good laugh at the notion that dogs like him are native parts of our ecosystem! I mentioned keeping cats indoors last week, once again describing how much damage they can do to our environment and how much pain being exposed to nature can inflict upon them. The same goes for unsupervised and untrained dogs. No one needs to see a puppy chasing a squirrel into the street and getting hit by a car. Dogs that run through the woodlands in summer can crush nests and eggs, sniff out young birds to “play” with or kill, and pick up dozens of ticks while they do, possibly encountering mammal families that can put up more of a fight. Dogs on our beaches are seen as predators by threatened and endangered avian species, exposing chicks and nests to weather and possible predation while stressing adults – or even trying to catch them! Off trail dogs trample through vernal pools and harm reptiles and amphibians and can destroy rare plants and wildflowers. Quite simply, while we love our barking fur kids, they have to be supervised at all times as well when out in nature at parks, shores, land preserves, and even at home, for both their own good and that of our environment, not to mention other people and dogs. It’s about respect to the world and all of its life.
Scott Kruitbosch
Conservation & Outreach Coordinator
