It's Guest Artist Monday! Since I didn't make it over to the park on Mother's Day, I was especially delighted by these glimpses of what I missed from gifted photographer William Woerner. He showcases his stuff on his blog Lens; here are a few great shots of Sunday's dog action.
Dogs were on my mind after Brownstoner sparked some flame wars over this article in the New York Post, featuring a cranky video vigilante named Orrin Tilevitz whose mission in life seems to be getting irresponsible dog owners busted for their pooches' park misbehavior. I chatted with the young reporter, Sarah Ryley, on the Long Meadow last week (and honored her request to "embargo" the story); given the thin gruel that is Post house style, I thought she did a decent job.
In
the movies, Orrin would be a quivering fall guy (played by Richard
Dreyfuss) for an out-of-bounds Disney dog (perhaps like this rascal, "Zeus," at left).
But in reality, this guy walks around with pepper spray and seems to dedicate every waking hour to chronicling miscreant dog/owner duos. Apparently, he's been attacked in the past; my own relaxed attitude toward the off-leash crowd in the Long Meadow (both during and outside of permitted hours) is shaped by my own, more positive experience. The dogs and owners I've met (typified by the folks at the advocacy group FIDO) create a safe, vibrant community out of this greensward. The worst behavior I've seen is dog-on-dog bullying (no worse than what I used to witness when I worked in an office). Tilevitz fumes that dogs ruin birdwatching, but I'm such a lousy birdwatcher that it's not an issue for me.
Dogwatching is more fun, anyway; no warbler has ever offered me a big sloppy kiss or let me give it a belly rub.
All dog photos: William Woerner; Tilevitz photo, JC Rice for New York Post
There's a blog dedicated to refuting the racism and hateful bile spewed by Orrin Tilevitz and his so-called "Committee for Responsible Dog Ownership"
http://credo-ny2.blogspot.com/
Everyone's welcome to participate!
Posted by: Orrin's Fan Club | May 11, 2009 at 04:36 PM
Everybody needs to calm down a little, dude. Don't egregiously antagonize a cranky guy with pepper spray. Let it rest for awhile, 'kay?
Posted by: Brenda from Flatbush | May 11, 2009 at 05:16 PM
Not everybody thinks Orrin's whistle blowing is such a bad thing:
http://abclocal.go.com/wabc/story?section=news/local&id=6807419
Posted by: chickenunderwear | May 12, 2009 at 07:43 AM