"enigma" wrote in message
. ..
"Doug Kanter" wrote in
:

you know, Doug, there are a large variety of fences
available that would solve your neigbor dog issues. if you
can't simply ask your neighbors nicely to keep thier dogs
off the lawn and/or clean up after them, then the next
logical step is to prevent the dogs from getting access to
the lawn to start with... a fence.

First of all, we're talking about dogs on leashes, with
people attached.
Not strays - they are a separate issue that's easier to
deal with. Onward:

well, yes, i understood that. i've seen very few strays
wandering around there when i visit. i understand it tends to
cost the owner a chunk of change to retrieve Fido from
Lollypop Farm. however...

I *do* ask people not to stop their dogs on my grass, and I
do so very politely. Unfortunately, some of them refuse to
comply, which simply baffles me. Their logic is that the
first 8 feet is "public property", which is completely
untrue. The reality is that the town and the utilities have
permanent easements which allow them to do certain types of
construction or maintenance.

are your easements, in fact, 8 feet? it's possible they're as
narrow as 4 feet. you are however, correct. they are utility
easements, not public areas.
anyway, i'm wondering about the width of the easement & the
actual laws about not fencing it, because there are homes with
fences quite close to the sidewalks (or brick walls even). as
long as the utilities have access to thier ROW, they tend not
to be concerned about fences (although one can't expect them
to not damage part of one if they have to dig, i think).
i know i have an electric ROW through my pasture, which is,
obviously, fenced. the crew checks with me before doing
linework if possible, but it *is* thier ROW... i expect
they're trained to deal with livestock underfoot... at least
they did pretty good when those lines came down during Wilma
last fall (they even fixed my fence they had to take down
temporarily).

As far as fences, two problems: First, you cannot erect a
fence within that first 8 feet, so that leaves a pretty
large area of property unprotected. And second, I can't
afford a fence, nor should I have to. It's not for me to
spend money in order to deal with other peoples' stupid
behavioral problems.

well, no, you shouldn't, but if asking nicely isn't getting
them to restrain themselves or thier dogs, it seems blocking
them is mentally healthier than simply fuming... of course,
you have come up with some pretty creative dog doom scenarios,
so maybe you actually enjoy that to some extent
maybe your problem is more common than you think? it does
seem to me than most front yards there are just boring lawn,
with a token flowering dogwood or crabapple and all the
"nice" gardening is done out back of the house... hmmmm.
lee
--
war is peace
freedom is slavery
ignorance is strength
1984-George Orwell

My garden is nationwide. It's everywhere.

Anyway...I may have just solved the problem. On our police force of 30-ish
officers, there is just one who thinks creatively, and seems to be as much a
scholar of the law as the town justice. She just stopped by, listened, and
explained that it's not necessary to have signs posted in order to charge
someone with trespassing. The alternative is a verbal request which is
ignored. She said she'd be delighted (her word) to present a low life with a
summons, meet them in court, and watch as they try to tell a judge that they
are somehow above the law because they have a dog.