Hamptons Dog Rules

Reprinted from the NYtimes: Photo Credit: Gordon M. Grant for The New York Times

IF you go down to Wiborg Beach on the early side — say, 7:30 a.m. — the first person you might run into is Steven Gaines, the author, who comes with his dog Shepsil. “I’m here every single day of the year, even if there’s a snowstorm,” he said.

By 8 a.m., more dogs arrive, accompanied by people wielding cups of coffee and tennis-ball flingers. If it’s a summer weekend, there will be several dozen dogs, frolicking on the sand and in the water while their owners mingle. Nearly everyone carries a Mutt Mitt, a plastic bag for removing waste.

“It’s a way to meet people,” said Mark Stearns, who drives with his wife and two French bulldogs from Philadelphia to East Hampton every weekend, year-round. “We’ve met a lot of people because of the dogs.”

Just before 9 a.m., the dogs and their owners trek to the parking lot, complying with a law that bans dogs from the beach after 9 a.m. and before 6 p.m. during the summer season. By day, the families with their children trickle in, setting down towels on the sand that the dogs have vacated.

This is where the conflict comes in.

“There’s poop out there everywhere, and when it gets hot out here, it stinks so bad,” said Suzzanne Fokine, a year-round resident who uses the beaches daily for exercise and meditation. “We wouldn’t let our kids poop on the beach, so why do we let dogs poop on the beach?”

Forget the artists-versus-writers softball game or the quest for a reservation at Nick and Toni’s. The real battle line in East Hampton lately has involved the continuing feud between dog owners, who say they are diligent about picking up after their pets, and other beachgoers, who point to evidence otherwise.

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