On Behalf of William

As regular readers know, William is a very old dog. We celebrated his sixteenth birthday last week--an astonishing age for a dog his size. These days we rarely venture farther afield than the end of our own block, but there are still days when William catches the call of something on the wind and, with heartbreakingly valiant determination, tugs me toward the river. Because William can no longer negotiate the steps on the pedestrian bridge, we toil across on the rickety deck of the Ferry Street Bridge, me looking over my shoulder to make sure no car turning off Front Street misses seeing us and worrying that William might get splinters in his paws. When finally we achieve the park, William leads me down the path to the gazebo and along the river, where he likes to sit for a while, enjoying the riot of smells that we humans are mostly oblivious to.

The problem, of course, is that the goal William struggles so mightily to achieve--to be in waterfront park--is illegal. Dogs are not allowed anywhere in Henry Hudson Riverfront Park at any time.

You can help make an old dog happy by signing the petition to ask the Common Council to amend Chapter 70 of the city code and repeal the prohibition on dogs in riverfront park. Please do it now. The Council meets at 7 p.m. tonight. Make it legal for dogs to visit riverfront park in William's lifetime. 
COPYRIGHT 2014 CAROLE OSTERINK