More About Predators

7:50 A.M., 1 large black unleashed dog, a repeat offender, near the Peninsula meadow.

It is possible that some of the dogs we'd expected to be illegally unleashed in the morning have instead been leashed. But it's a bit early to declare victory, as the following will show.

We were talking today with an elderly fellow who feeds birds. As we looked at a chickadee, he lamented that just before he had seen somebody loose his dog on another chickadee, and asked us "why would someone do such a thing?"

And then there's PE#1. A fellow who identified himself as Tony, the president of FIDO, the advocacy group for unleashed dogs in Prospect Park and their owners, today approached a birder we know to ask for help--from the birding community in general-- in catching a woman who he has seen using her two rat terriers to hunt birds and small animals in the Peninsula woods. Tony has also seen her tear down park fences to let the dogs in to protected areas. The last time Tony asked her to stop, she threatened him--a frail, elderly cancer patient--with her stick. This woman is none other than our PE#1, whose name, it seems, is Marcia; we, and others, had (Tony said) mis-identified the dogs as Jack Russell terriers.

We suggested in our prior posts that this woman carries around a hockey stick or a ski pole for non-athletic reasons. Last summer, PE#1-Marcia assaulted a couple of birders with a heavy walking stick (and got away with it); we will have more to say about this in a subsequent post. Prospect Park maintenance workers have been complaining to their bosses--including Tupper Thomas--about her for year, and the park police have been told, multiple times, about her and her activities. They know what she looks like; they even know her name. In fact, the DOPR, from Commissioner Benepe on down, knows about this woman and her depredations. Yet somehow this woman seems to have escaped so much as a summons. PE#1 is quite clearly being protected by her off-leash friends. So it's ironic that even FIDO has now decided that enough is enough.

PE#1-Marcia is a clear and present danger to Prospect Park, its wildlife, and its patrons. Above are pictures of the woman and her dogs. If you see this woman doing anything illegal, including having her dogs unleashed outside designated leash areas during off-leash hours, please call--immediately--either the park police at (718) 439-4211 or, if necessary, 911. Even better yet, photograph her, and send the pictures to us.