Prospect Park Vigilante Wages Canine Campaign
Off-leash dogs have driven one frequenter of Prospect Park cuckoo. According to a NY Post story yesterday, Orrin Tilevitz, merchant banker and ardent birder, has been waging a war against dog owners who let their dogs run free, blowing the whistle on them to the cops and posting videos of their off-leash carousing on his…
Off-leash dogs have driven one frequenter of Prospect Park cuckoo. According to a NY Post story yesterday, Orrin Tilevitz, merchant banker and ardent birder, has been waging a war against dog owners who let their dogs run free, blowing the whistle on them to the cops and posting videos of their off-leash carousing on his anti-dog blog. While plenty of people wish dog owners would keep better control of their dogs, a traumatic attack seems to have turned Tilevitz into something of an anti-dog zealot. According to one source in The Post story, Tilevitz routinely carries pepper spray around with him and recently used in on two dogs. The major problem seems to be, according to a blog post by Tilevitz on Committee for Responsible Dog Ownership, “The presence of unleashed dogs interferes with–prevents–our ability–and right–to watch birds.” One of Tilevitz’s trademark “gotcha” videos in embedded in the post.
Vigilante Unleashes Dogs of War [NY Post]
Photo by rlj
sparrows, actually. There also used to be some beautiful wood doves in the back yard but i don’t see them any longer. Saw a robin the other day- haven’t seen one in years.
bxgrl, what are your favorite species of local birds?
iz- what does someone do to protect themselves from an attacking dog? I’d rather pepper spray than a gun or a knife. And, again, the guy in the article was attacked by a dog- an off leash dog- why is it so surprising off-leash dogs frighten him?
And since we actually do have so much wildlife in NYC- what makes you think you have to be weird to like enjoying birds and other wild critters? I find bird watching preferable to watching dog owners pick up dog crap and then dump it in my garbage can.
“I’m terrified of dogs. All dogs. I can’t enjoy the park…”
Being scared of something does not give you the right to harm it or to insist that it be banned. You should work to overcome your fears, or else be content to avoid places where you might encounter it. Whether or short leashes, long leashes or no leashes, there are always going to be dogs in parks.
10th Street Reno, CONGRATS on the fostering. Yr very awesome for doing that. Watch out for the crazies with binoculars, tho!
I always thought bird watchers were weirdos. Thanks for confirming. Birds are wildlife. Fascination with wildlife, at that zealous stage and in the CITY, is soooooo weird. I wouldn’t let this guy near my dogs, my children, or even my enemies.
Dogs are an extention of society. We domesticated them alongside our own evolution as a species. They will always be around, because most people actually LOVE and NEED dog companionship as part of their well-being. The fact that cities are crowded just puts more responsibility on the dog owners.
So far, I’ve been really impressed with the sweetness and thoughtfulness of dog owners. They are EXCEPTIONAL in their manners and civility, because they have to be. In general, they have none of the bad attitude of entitled parents, who also have a right, presumeably, to keep their little critters of leash, but often use it as a way to terrorize everyone in their vicinity.
ANYWAY, we all gotta live together. Pepper spray is some crazy zealot military tactic. yowza.
Two words:
dog run!
One other word:
Suburb!!!
If you can’t imagine living your life without owning a St. Bernard and letting it run free to its heart’s desire than move to the ‘burbs. We all make sacrifices living in a big city, and some of these crazy dog owners need to realize that. I imagine a lot of these people, such as the one whose dog attacked the poor bagel eating family in Ft. Greene Park, are folks who are enchanted with the idea of owning a dog but haven’t got a clue as to how much work is involved with taking care of a dog in NYC.
And yes…people who think its appropriate to leave big stinking piles of dog s*** on the sidewalk are barbarians who should be fined so steeply they have to leave town.
We just fostered a dog and take her to the park daily. I’m in two minds on the whole off leash rules. I don’t see us ever letting her off leash (guessing we’d never see her again !) but I do feel that some owners are very irresponsible in this regard. Watching someone screaming their dog’s name for 15 minutes in desperation for them to come back tells you they should not be off leash. Having said that dogs that are well trained and obedient shouldn’t have the privaledge removed because of a minority of bad owners.
What I really hate though are owners that don’t scoop. Drives me nuts.
Rob – have you taken your dog down to the new dog run by the Novo ? It seems a lot better than the prior dog run in that area. Not sure how the folks in the Novo think of the big bag of steaming dog turds though….
“I’m terrified of dogs. All dogs.”…
seek help