Catcher in the Sand Revisited

This is a followup story to “Catcher in the Sand” written a while back.

My mother, who lives in Atlantic Beach, Florida, knows that I have a continuing interest in the relatively new Nazi Dog Catcher of Atlantic Beach. This woman is on a power trip and obviously hates dogs and anyone who dares to walk them on the beach. I’ve been ticketed twice. I believe my next fine is $500 and I have virtually stopped taking my dog, Dash, a water-loving Golden Retriever, on the beach when I visit my mother on frequent trips to Florida. It’s really sad because he absolutely loves the beach and he will actually start crying when he smells the salt air and knows we are in the vicinity – as we head east on Atlantic Boulevard. He knows that his days will contain retrieving tennis balls out of the surf – his favorite activity ever.

Sorry, Dash, we don’t do that anymore. The Nazis have taken over and it is not safe.

I have heard complaints from other Atlantic Beach residents about this over-zealous bitch (and I am not talking about female dogs.)

On my second infraction, it was the same woman who nailed me the first time. She asked me for my name and then asked if I still lived on Walnut Drive in Marietta, Georgia. I was surprised and responded yes; she then asked her partner if he had my driver’s license number; he referred to a clipboard and gave her the exact number. I was flabbergasted! Maybe I should sue them for invasion of privacy – carrying around my information on a clipboard! She gave me a second ticket.

Days later, the same woman drove by my mother’s house as I was coming back from a leashed, street walk with my dog. She saw me and waved with a smart-ass look like, we Nazis have you under strict watch…

But the real pisser was when my mom called to inform me that her next door neighbor, who lives on the corner, was returning home from the supermarket with her dogs; as she let the dogs out, they wandered around in the yard while she got the grocery bags out of the back seat.

The Atlantic Beach Nazi Dog Catcher (yes, it was her again!) happens to be driving by and stops to make an arrest! Yes, the dogs were on their owner’s property but they were NOT on a leash and perhaps they were too near the sidewalk which is PUBLIC PROPERTY. My mom’s neighbor got a ticket for both dogs.

Now, I know both of these dogs – Jake, a sweet, German Shepherd mix and Ellie, a Dachshund. Both are older dogs and are quite docile. They are no threat to anyone and basically they were in their OWN YARD!  Still, the neighbor got a ticket.

My question is this: WHY don’t the dog owners of Atlantic Beach complain about this bitch? Aren’t there any Tony Sopranos in Atlantic Beach? I would think that complaints in volume would warrant a look into this by Atlantic Beach officials…

Again, I do not claim that Animal Control Services are not needed. Absolutely not!  But a little human discretion needs to go into interpreting the laws. This woman probably thinks the more citations she writes, the better she is doing her job. She did not strike me as an overly intelligent person and maybe the City of Atlantic Beach should qualify their employees by intelligence standards.

Again, I am a responsible dog owner. I clean up after him. I leash him when needed and I avoid any potential problem situations – aggressive-looking dogs, older people, children, or people who appear to not particularly like dogs…

This problem in Atlantic Beach should be solved. If I lived there, it would be a priority!

Come on Atlantic Beach officials! Why not see through all of this and IMPROVE your residents quality of life? Maybe this could become an election issue.

If I lived there it WOULD!  And that bitch would be out of a job!