On a beautiful recent Sunday morning, during the off-leash hours, dog owners came to Robbins Farm Park for a “Meet and Greet” with Amanda Kennedy, Arlington’s Animal Control Officer.  The event was organized by Robin Varghese, a regular user and supporter of Robbins Farm Park, as well as an A-DOG Board Member and Treasurer.  A-DOG was happy to donate coffee for this friendly, informative outreach event.

The Friends of Menotomy Rocks Park sponsored their own Meet and Greet event when our new ACO began her job earlier this fall.  In addition, A-DOG hosted a welcoming reception in her honor at its regular monthly meeting in September.  At this meeting, a discussion began about how A-DOG can work with Amanda to promote education and responsible dog ownership in Arlington.  Proposed initiatives include teaching greater awareness of how to safely and happily interact with dogs, promoting the advantages to both dog owners and the broader community of dog licensing, and helping residents, such as senior citizens, who might face challenges to keeping and caring for their pets.

A-DOG is very excited that Arlington has chosen somebody with Amanda Kennedy’s depth of experience (as recently summarized in a press release by APD Chief Fred Ryan) and strong community commitment, and we anticipate a very productive working relationship.  As a recent example, Amanda attended A-DOG’s recent workshop at the Robbins Farm Library on “Dog Park Etiquette” and collaborated with professional trainer Alana Meserve to address audience questions.  More information about the Dog Park Etiquette workshop here and link to Arlington’s Animal Control program here.

(Thanks to A-DOG Board Member and Robbins Farm Park user Amy Goldstein for photos taken at Robbins Farm Park.)