Editor,



It's important that people understand what really happened on the Willard Beach Dog Referendum.

The City Council formed a Task Force which worked for almost a year to resolve the conflicts at Willard Beach and craft a policy which served the entire community. Two members of the anti-dog "Save Willard Beach" served on the Task Force, no members of the dog owners were asked to serve. Nevertheless, the anti-dog people complained regularly that the TF was stacked in favor of the dog owners. Why even the facilitator owned two dogs.

Although the Task Force recommended restricted hours for dog walkers on the beach, heavy enforcement and fines and determined there was no significant health risk from dog waste, Save Willard Beach repudiated these findings and successfully placed a referendum on the ballot to completely ban dogs from the beach for six months of the year, Spring, Summer and Fall. They generously conceded the other six months of the year which in Maine comprise Winter to the dog walkers on leash only.

This all happened because a self admitted activist, City Council gadfly, and pee and poop obsessed fanatic seized on this issue as a vehicle for his own ego trip and personal publicity campaign; he is also running for City Council. The goal of he and his allies is to strip the roughly 20% of the households in South Portland who own dogs, as well as the many dog walkers from surrounding communities and summer visitors of their right under City ordinance to walk their dogs on the beach.

The South Portland dog group, SoPoDog, needs your help even if you don't live here. We are up against a group financed by a well to do Willard Beach land owner who recently completed a lavish 3 story home right on the beach. First, actively oppose the Dog Referendum by talking to your friends. Second, donate to SoPoDog ( www.sopodog.com) or send donations to South Portland Dog Owners Group, PO Box 2163, South Portland, ME 04116 to help fund our campaign. And come and enjoy Willard Beach with your dog off leash 7-9 AM and 7-9 PM for the rest of the Summer, 6 AM to 9 PM after October 1.

Peter F. Erlin
South Portland