Monday, March 28, 2011

NYC's # 1 Off-Leash Scofflaw

LOAD OF BULL: William Carrasco with his pit bulls.

LOAD OF BULL: William Carrasco with his pit bulls. Mr. Carrasco was slapped with five tickets for letting his dogs off-leash in Tremont Park during three separate incidents in 2009. He now owes $8,000 in tickets. More than 3,040 dog owners were ticketed for letting their dogs roam off-leash in 2009 and 2010, ECB records show. Another 13 were busted for multiple offenses.

(Photo: Angel Chevrestt)

Bronx


This guy’s dogs have gone wild.


A Pennsylvania man with an itch for letting his pit bulls loose in Bronx parks is the city’s top dog scofflaw, owing $8,000 in tickets for parading his pets around public parks without their leashes, according to the New York Post.


William "Willie" Carrasco, 43, of Bethlehem, PA, was slapped with five tickets for letting his dogs prance around untethered in Tremont Park during three separate incidents in 2009, according to city Environmental Control Board records.


The rogue ruffs are "Precious," 11, a pit bull-Boxer mix with freckles and plenty of girth, and "Spartacus," 9, a pit bull-Labrador mix with white fur and black patches.


Carrasco said he was just trying to help his doggies’ digestion by letting them off their leashes.

His babies need to run around before they feel nature’s call, the unemployed father said.


"You don’t just eat and do it right away. You have to go out and walk around," said Carrasco, who sleeps with his dogs and treats them like family.


Dogs must be on a leash in parks 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. They are allowed to roam free in designated parks in the early morning hours, along with dog runs.


Tickets issued by parks officers start at $100 and grow to $2,000 for multiple offenses.


Carrasco admitted to being slapped with fines for hanging out in Tremont Park after closing time. He paid those tickets, but didn’t have the dough for the other ones and shoved them in a shoebox, he said.


More than 3,040 lax dog owners were ticketed for letting their dogs roam off-leash in 2009 and 2010, ECB records show. Another 13 were busted for multiple offenses.


The city slapped the dastardly dog owners with $425,860 in fines from the incidents.


Letting fido run free may seem natural enough, but harried hounds have bit parkgoers, drowned in lakes or gotten hit by cars while leash-free, said Geoffrey Croft of New York City Park Advocates, a watchdog group.


"The public should be able to walk through a park without being attacked or scared by an animal," Croft said.


The city officially made early-morning off-leash hours legal in 2007. But the roaming rights only apply to designated parks, and wild areas, ball fields and playgrounds are off limits.


Read More:

8G paddle for No. 1 off-leash scofflaw
New York Post - March 27, 2011 - By Heather Haddon

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