Dirty Dog Deeds to Generate Tickets

VILLAS- Those who don’t clean up after their dogs on the township’s beaches will no longer get a warning from animal control or police, they will get a ticket.
At an Oct. 1 Township Council meeting, Mayor Michael Beck said enforcement would increase and warnings would end to be replaced by tickets.
During public comment, a North Cape May resident said the problem with pet owners not leashing and cleaning up after their dogs had become “horrendous.”
“It’s just not in the summer, it’s all year round and it’s become more so,” she said.
The resident suggested dogs be limited to one area of beach, “so we don’t have confrontations.”
“I think we are entitled to a people’s beach, it has become an animal beach,” she said. “It’s completely out of hand.”
She said she saw four piles of dog excrement on the beach earlier in the day.
Township Manager Michael Voll said the beaches were being spoiled by “people that were rude and ignorant.” He noted council has provided bags at beach entrances but some dog owners use the bags and throw them up into the dunes.
Voll said some neighboring beach towns have advertised Lower Township as having dog-friendly beaches. He said the township has posted on websites to correct that notion.
Beck said such pet owners would probably not use a dog designated beach area and continue to take their dogs to any beach.
Councilman Glenn Douglass said police patrols on the beach have increased. He said he had confronted dog owners on the beach and received rude replies.
Beck asked residents to call police if they confront a situation of a dog running loose on the beach or an owner not cleaning up after the pet.
“There are no more warnings, just write the tickets,” he said to Voll.
Resident Ray Flickenger suggested limiting the hours dogs are allowed on the beach similar to Wildwood controlling the time bicycles are allowed on the boardwalk.
Resident George Dougherty suggested posting signs noting a $250 fine for dog owners that do not comply with regulations.