The mushrooming of recreational areas for families with dogs in the past thirty years is featured in the May issue of Tails Magazine, and, at the heart of the story, are Somerville's dog parks and dog owners!

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!

Michele Biscoe with Strummer talks to Joe Constantine for City Cable against a backdrop of city officials: Dana Spang, Intern; Ellen Schneider, Landscape Project Manager; William Roche, Ward One Alderman; Arn Franzen, Director of Parks and Open Space; Michael Lambert, Director of Transportation and Infrastructure; and Mayor Joe Curtatone.

Above: Frank Cresta with his German Short-haired Pointer, Kirk; Jim Harvey, General Manager, Holiday Inn - Somerville; and Julie Roix talk about the future community park and off-leash recreational area at the groundbreaking at 0 New Washington Street.

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.