Editor:

   Willard Beach is a public beach.  That being said, it is there for people to share.  There are a lot of people that don’t feel it’s sharing and they find it offensive and unusable after hundreds of dogs are allowed to poop and pee on it every week.  As of August there were a little over 1,800 dogs registered in South Portland and more than 23,000 residents.  Clearly there are a lot more residents than dogs.  Dogs are banned from the playing fields at Wainwright field, the athletic complex at the high school and public play grounds.  The common thread here is adults and children are playing on the ground.  Why then are dogs allowed on the beach?  Not only do adults and children play on the ground at the beach, they take off most of their clothes while there.  Who among us wants to play in the sand where hundreds of dogs have pooped and peed earlier that week. Picked up or not! A growing group of people in South Portland are looking for a reasonable solution to this and are coming forward with the suggestion of following state laws and banning dogs during the summer months. During the winter it would be treated as any other park and during the summer we wouldn’t have the think about were we played. It is not at all unreasonable to have one of the many parks and open spaces in South Portland dog free for six months a year. SaveWillardbeach.com group will be meeting at the South Portland Community center Nov. 12 at 7 p.m.  Please join us in fixing this problem.

Gary Crosby

South Portland