Call me a flip-flopper. Just a few issues ago I was gushing about how I love winter, but it's really the sultry summer nights in Fort Greene Park that make life just a little bit sweeter. They make me forget about the caffeine-fueled morning rush and the day's slow-rising burn of city heat. Evenings make it OK to feel lazy. The smells of honeysuckle and incense lilt and linger, as do conversations. The dogs, happy to be outside, are more likely to pant, scratch and lap up water than run us ragged. Some years it's Venus. Other times it's asteroid showers, but there's always the stars.

Sure I'm romanticizing a bit, but for my money, summer's best moments really do come within an hour or two of both sun up and sun down. (Lucky for us, they're both during off-leash hours!) Besides, if this issue of the newsletter is any indication, YOU'LL be giving ME a much needed reality check by sending in your own take on summer — whether it's the mosquitoes, the BBQ debris, the seasonal swamp around the fountain, or whatever else gets your goat.

Simply said, the growing number of member contributions has made this issue my favorite to date. So without further adieu, I'd like to draw your attention to what's in store: You've heard the rumors. Now get the skinny on the renovation plans for the monument plaza and find out why hawks won't be the only birds of prey on display in Fort Greene Park. Who says our tax dollars aren't working for us? See how beloved Council Person Tish James represents Fort Greene doggie-style! And while it may be the season to relax and to let it all hang out, see why two of our members caution us to keep an eye out, both for our safety and our dogs. And just for fun, see how our fine furry friends — and their owners — are making waves around globe.

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Feel free to contact PUPS here with your comments, concerns, story ideas and anything else you'd like to get off your chest: frankophonic@hotmail.com. We'd love to hear from you.

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INTERNATIONAL HEADLINES FROM DNN, THE DOGGIE NEWS NETWORK

And you thought the off-leash fines were steep! According to Reuters, dog owners in Turin, Italy will be fined up to $650 if they don't walk their pets at least three times a day, under a new law from the city's council.

People will also be banned from dyeing their pets' fur or "any form of animal mutilation" for merely aesthetic motives such as docking dogs' tails, under the law about to be passed in the northern Italian city.

"In Turin it will be illegal to turn one's dog into a ridiculous fluffy toy," the city's La Stampa daily reported.

Italians can already be fined up to 10,000 euros and spend a year in prison if found guilty of torturing or abandoning their pets, but Turin's new rules go into much greater detail.

Dogs may be led for walks by people on bicycles, the rules say, "but not in a way that would tire the animal too much."

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Those of you fed up with sensationalized pit-bull-gone-mad stories will find this headline-stealing hound a welcome antidote. The AP recently reported that in Nairobi, Kenya, a stray dog saved the life of a newborn baby after finding the abandoned infant in a forest and apparently carrying it across a busy road and through some barbed wire to her litter of puppies.

The stray dog found the infant, clad in tattered clothing, in a poor neighborhood near the Ngong Forests in the capital of Nairobi, Stephen Thoya told the independent Daily Nation newspaper.

The dog apparently found the baby in the plastic bag in which the infant had been abandoned, said Aggrey Mwalimu, owner of the shed where the animal was guarding its puppies. The seven-pound, four-ounce infant was immediately taken to the hospital for treatment.

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MEMBER EDITORIALS

TWO RECENT SUNDAYS
by Joseph Kovack

In the last year my Scottish Terrier, Murphy, and myself have been coming to Fort Greene Park almost daily, regardless of the weather. 98% of our trips have been very good, however on two recent Sundays I had a run-in with a person that was not quite so nice. This man was drunk and disorderly and I for one do not want this type of unlawful behavior to occur in a public park that is there for everyone's use.

On the first Sunday we did not speak, however I did pick up an empty beer bottle that he had flung onto the large field. I called 311 and in about 30 minutes the police cruised the park. On the second Sunday, I saw the very same person urinating on a trash can near to the benches. He started to yell profanities, then threw a freshly opened can of beer and eventually got off the bench and started toward me. I picked up Murphy and went up the hill to call 911. The police arrived quickly and a wonderful bystander flagged the police car down and told them that the individual we had called about was leaving the park. We believe that he was picked up across the street.

I believe that you should take precautions when entering the park, either in the morning or in the evening. Always carry your cell phone and if possible use the buddy system when walking your dog. Make sure that if someone gives you any trouble that you report it (call 911 only if it is an emergency situation). That way, the police know that there are problems in the park and that they need to address them. If possible, make sure that you can give the police a description of the person or persons. I believe that reporting such incidents helps to make a better park and a better New York City!

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CANINE VIOLENCE IN FORT GREENE PARK
By Anne Stone

On Tuesday morning, April 26, in the big field near the DeKalb/Washington Park entrance to Fort Greene Park, a 2-year-old Yorkshire Terrier named Choco was attacked by Hannibal, a Rottweiler mix. According to both owners the attack came out of the blue and was entirely unprovoked. Choco was taken to Animal Kind, where he died the next day before he could have an operation to repair an air-filled lung.

Although I was only a bystander, I found the experience extremely traumatic and it caused me to view the dog scene at the park in a completely new way. Initially I'd thought of it as a canine utopia, where the dogs could run free and play together, but I now realize that was a deeply naive view. There is always a potential for violence among dogs, especially those who were rescued from possibly terrible abuse, or those who have been trained to fight with other dogs. Having witnessed the death of Choco, I have become much more protective about my own 24-pound terrier, and I hope that other dog owners are too. Especially if you own a toy breed, think carefully about how you can protect it from other dogs. If you have adopted a rescue dog, or own a member of an aggressive breed, make sure it is always under your control and take the responsibility to see that it is properly trained — under professional supervision if necessary. These cautions sound so obvious that they don't bear mentioning, but Choco's unnecessary death proves that we all need to be more vigilant.

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