Please help this dog get home! He was found in Foss Park this morning with no collar. A caring Somerville Dog Owner has taken him home. Contact me if you know whom he belongs to!

[cross-posted from somervilledog: a weblog]

Dogs that are leashed (no retractible leads please) and licensed and that enjoy the company of other dogs are welcome. Dogs are encouraged to wear patriotic colors!

The parade sets off from City Hall at 1:00. The parade route is 2.25 miles along Highland Avenue to Davis Square; Holland Street, to Teele Square and Broadway to Veterans Memorial Cemetery.

To begin the parade with us, please meet us at 1:20 Sunday afternoon, May 30, at the bottom of Putnam Street (across the street from the Nunziato OLRA).

When we pass the grandstand at the end of the parade, we especially want to have a big group behind our banner to wave to Grand Marshal John W. Mattuchio, Mayor Joe and other Somerville officials. To ensure that we have a large group marching with us at the end of the parade, we encourage Somerville dog owners to file in with us behind our banner as we proceed along the parade route.

NOTE: Walkers are responsible for their own transportation to and from the parade. There is parking at the end of the parade route at Dilboy Stadium. There will be NO PARKING at City Hall on the day of the parade.

Follow us on Twitter or send us your cell phone number and we will text you up-to-the-minute information about our location on Parade Day!

The author, Melissa Wiley, contacted me by e-mail back in February, and I did my best to tell her about all the special features that, together, have made off-leash recreation successful in Somerville despite our relatively scarce open space. Somerville is truly a special place: Cities with much more open space than we have have not made off-leash recreation work. The Commonwealth of Massachusetts, alas, can't seem to accomplish what we have.

Engaged and responsible dog owners are what makes Somerville so special, along with our progressive Mayor and the many members of the Board of Aldermen who are working with constituents, who often have different—sometimes opposed—perspectives, to make our city a great place to live, work and play.

Civic cooperation between [the Somerville Dog Owners Group] and city officials soon yielded tangible off-leash results, with the establishment of two off-leash recreational areas (OLRAs) by 2008. Not stopping there, the group has continued to advocate for further OLRAs amid increasingly scarce public space. A third OLRA is also in the works for canine residents of East Somerville, funded through federal community development block grants, according to Biscoe.

Speaking of Somerville's third OLRA, I'd like to take this opportunity to thank all the dog owners, city officials and local business people who came to the groundbreaking for the new community park and off-leash recreational area at Zero New Washington Street yesterday. Thank you!

Left: Carlene Campbell, Community Outreach Director for the City of Somerville and Liaison to the Dog Onwers Task Force, and Lora Valante ponder the future possibilities for Clara at Somerville's next off-leash recreational area, scheduled to open this fall.

Photos by Marshall Wallace.

On Saturday, May 22, the Blueback Herring River Route will be showcased as the first SomerStreets venue. Streets from Foss Park to the Blessing of the Bay Boathouse will be closed to vehicular traffic and open for walking, running, skating and biking from 10:00 am to 2:00 pm.

Bring your family, friends (even the four-legged ones) for activities along Shore Drive including: Canoeing, dancing, hopscotch, hula-hooping, jumping rope, paddle boating and more. Details, including street closures are available online from the City of Someville.

The schedule for the SomerStreets is:

• Saturday, May 22, 2010 Time: 10:00 A.M. - 2:00 P.M.


• Saturday, June 25, 2010 Time: Noon - 5:00 P.M.


• Sunday, July 25, 2010 Time: 10:00 A.M. - 2:00 P.M.


• Sunday, August: TBA

The the City of Somerville will hold a ground-breaking ceremony for the Zero New Washington Community Park and Off-Leash Recreational Area at the park site at 4:00 p.m.

Leashed dogs (no retractable leads, please) that are licensed and that enjoy the company of other dogs are welcome.

Please note that there is no access to New Washington Street from the Cobble Hill Apartments. Please access New Washington Street from Washington Street or from Inner Belt Road.

Ballo, Bella, Clio, Kola, Luna and Pilot are the stars of this video from the free Recall Clinic with City Dog Training on Sunday afternoon, May 2, at the Ed Leathers Community Park.

In canine obedience training the ability to call your dog and get an immediate response at all times is known as "recall". A reliable recall could save your dog's life and, as demonstrated here, helps to protect other people, including small children.

Every six weeks or so, City Dog Training has been offering free instruction to teach dog owners how to train their dogs to come when called in parks around the City including Nunziato Field, Perry Park and Powder House Park. The clinics are co-sponsored by the City of Somerville and the Somerville Youth and Recreation Commission.

City Dog Training is offering a free clinic to teach your dog to come when called, Sunday afternoon, May 2, from 1:00 to 2:00 p.m. at Leathers Park on Walnut Street between Pearl Street and Medford Street. Dogs that are leashed (no retractable leads, please) licensed and who enjoy the company of other dogs are welcome.

In canine obedience training the ability to call your dog and get an immediate response at all times is known as "recall". At City Dog Training's recall clinics, dog owners learn to play the "Get it!" Game with their pets to teach them to in a fun and positive way to come when called.

This will be the fourth free Recall clinic offered by City Dog Training. The clinics are co-sponsored by the Somerville Dog Owner Group and the Somerville Recreation and Youth Department.

Please check citydogtraining.com for cancellation information in case of inclement weather.