New Policy on Pets Draws Criticism from Community

Exeter’s faculty-run Dog Policy Committee has instituted a new Dog Control Policy for both PEA and non-PEA dog owners. Though the committee saw the changes as both important and inevitable, some members of the Exeter community unaffiliated with the Academy have reacted to the new rules with annoyance and even outrage.The changes mandate that all “non-employee visitors to campus must have their dogs on a leash at all times and in all places,” according to a flyer that members of the facilities department are handing out to anyone walking their pets. The flyers are accompanied by signs on the paths and trails stating that “all dogs must be kept on a leash.” However, this rule stops short of requiring the same for PEA dog owners, who must now register their pet with campus safety.The revisions do not stop there. Also prohibited are “animal running at-large and/or zone violation” and “improper cleaning up after one’s pet.” These offenses result firstly in an educational warning, secondly in a written warning, and finally in a no trespass warning.In addition, if a visitor’s pet “damages Academy property” or “jumps, scratches, cases and/or bites,” they are met first met with a written warning, and secondly with a no trespass notice.The newly-implemented regulations seemed especially harsh to Frank Addario, who lives in Exeter with his wife and dog.Addario, outraged, wrote a letter to the editor in the Exeter News-Letter that was later posted on the Seacoast Online website on Sept. 5 titled “PEA’s Restrictions Reek of Elitism.”“Recently,” Addario wrote, “as my wife and I walked our 16-pound dog on the Phillips Exeter Academy trails, we were handed a flyer by one of PEA’s security personnel.”Addario continued to criticize the Academy for “[using] all our resources and they pay the town a mere pittance of what all the real estate is worth.” His frustration led him to conclude that permitting employees to walk their dogs off- leash but permitting it for non-faculty members was “elitist.”Melissa Pacific, physical education instructor and head of the Dog Policy Committee, acknowledged the possibility of disapproval among those affected.“Both on and off campus, some people understand the risk and liability issues, and some do not. Some are upset about the new policy, but many understand the risk and liability issues that can arise,” Pacific said. Addressing Addario’s letter, she explained that the issue is “complicated” and “we all knew it would be hard for people outside of the Academy to appreciate our challenges.”Non-faculty members, however, weren’t the only ones impacted. Jacqueline Flores, modern languages instructor and Dog Policy Committee member, described the process for any dog-owning faculty member. “All academy dogs are registered and have a red tag so that anyone in facilities can see the tag and distinguish where the dog is from,” Flores said. All “academy dog” owners are granted permission to walk their dogs without a leash, with the judgement of the safety and rules in mind. All faculty members are also responsible for cleaning their dogs’ waste and covering damages made to Academy property by the pets.

Principal Tom Hassan responded to Addario in a letter to the editor approximately a week later, defending the changes and giving reasons to illustrate their necessity. After acknowledging Addario’s concern, Hassan explained the problems that prompted the changes in the first place. “We have experienced so many problems with aggressive and mischievous pets that have caused injury to our students, employees and non-PEA visitors that we are forced to create parameters and enforce some common sense restrictions,” Hassan wrote.“Please understand that our faculty who live on campus have only the trails and small pieces of the campus as their ‘home and yard’ unlike private Exeter residents who have their property to allow their dogs to roam without a leash,” he added.Director of Campus Safety Services Jeffrey Nelson also sought to explain that many of the rules are not necessarily new, and that the policy existed previously. The new simply represents a revision that “was revised by a committee comprised of faculty and staff over the last year...to address safety issues associated with dogs not under the direct control of their owners.”Despite some negative responses to the changes, Nelson said that while handing out flyers to PEA visitors, most “have been positive and understanding,” and he hopes to continue to foster a productive relationship between dog owners from inside the faculty and in the town at large.