Hello everyone, I am pleased to be the new South Portland Dog Owners’ Group president. My name is Crystal Goodrich and I own one dog, Scooby. I frequently walk in Hinckley Park and Willard Beach and Scooby and I have many friends and acquaintances in both places. My husband Jeff and I have lived in South Portland for over four years now, previously we lived in Portland. One of the things I noticed as soon as we moved here was the sense of community that is lacking in other cities. I really feel a strong connection to the open spaces because being outside is something we are fortunate enough to be able to do every day with our friends and our dogs.

    I originally learned about SoPoDOG through a dog walking friend, Deb Kimball. She was one of the founders of the group some 10+ years ago. I became active in the group to work toward the mission the dog owner’s in South Portland set out years ago: “As members of the South Portland Dog Owners’ Group we recognize our responsibility to secure the continued well-being of our canine companions. We also acknowledge and respect the right of community members to enjoy public recreational facilities equally. We are committed to working with individuals, groups and local governing bodies in our community to ensure dog owner responsibility, and to promote positive images and experiences with humankind’s oldest and most loyal animal companions.”

    There are many people who make use of the public spaces in our city, and dog owners are just one of them. The popularity of South Portland as a “doggie destination” is clear when you walk in one of your favorite spots and meet people who live in Portland, Cape, Westbrook and Scarborough. People from other towns come to South Portland to share our open spaces with us because we have the privilege of walking our dogs off-leash in them. And there are many dog owners from South Portland who go to other towns to walk as well. We need to expand our sense of “community” beyond city limits.

    As president I have lots of ideas about how to make dog owners’ connection a positive one with the community, but I have two main goals. The first goal I have is to use the mission statement of SoPoDOG to keep equal access to open spaces for off-leash dog walking. My second goal is to find even more open spaces for dogs to walk with their people off-leash and make them accessible to dog owners.

    I believe one of the keys to keeping a balance in open space use is to have enough room so everyone can share. Being crowded into less and less space causes conflict and affects our quality of life negatively. We need to be creative and work toward solutions through education and collaboration throughout the community so we can meet the needs of the community.

    I welcome your ideas and feedback. I have set up an e-mail address (southportlanddog@yahoo.com) to compliment this website and I will be re-establishing the e-mail notification list. If you have signed up in the past for this broadcast e-mail list, please sign up again. Details about signing up are on the “Contact Us” page. Take a little bit of time to sign up so you don’t miss important information about the group and issues in the community.

    Thank you very much to all of those who have come before us, the founding mothers and fathers of SoPoDOG. These individuals have made our quality of life better by creating a group of concerned dog owners and keeping open spaces accessible to everyone. Without them we would be in a similar predicament to our neighbors in Westbrook and other towns, with very little outdoor space in our community to take our dogs for off-leash exercise and play. It’s our responsibility as dog owners and members of the South Portland community to protect these open spaces and keep them accessible for the public for years to come.

    Sincerely, Crystal Goodrich