On April 10, I voted to uphold the West Tisbury bylaw prohibiting dogs at Lambert’s Cove Beach from June 15 to Sept. 15 of each year. This bylaw was approved by the Massachusetts Attorney General on Dec. 29, 2011. The result was that dog owners would be able to walk their dogs on Lambert’s Cove Beach for three quarters of the calendar year. The bylaw would have allowed those of us who enjoy the beach without a dog urinating, defecating nearby, pulling at our towels, food or family members while kicking sand over their nearby feces, to do so for a quarter of the calendar year.

In the spirit of compromise, this year the annual town meeting voted 106-97 to return Lambert’s Cove Beach to a place where dogs run wild 365 days per year. Quite a compromise.

Dog walkers and their supporters say they have made a great sacrifice by giving up their efforts to return dogs to Lambert’s Cove Beach from 6:30 to 9 p.m. in the summer months. Why should they be denied the right to walk their dogs on the beach 365 days a year, as one of their ilk warbled at the town meeting. Our dogs “are special creatures who give us so much joy,” someone said. Who is the “us” the speaker refers to? Surely not the great majority of people sitting on the beach hoping to enjoy a few hours of peace and relaxation without having a dog run up to their families and scare toddlers who are not fans of these “special creatures.” The “us” was the great majority of West Tisbury residents whose interests are looked after by the animal control officer and town park and recreation committee, who unanimously endorsed upholding the bylaw that was passed in December 2011 but never given a chance to exist in reality — not even on a trial basis for 90 days.

Of course, no dogs-on-the-beach nuisance issues would even exist if dog walkers observed another town bylaw adopted in 1975 pertaining to dogs on leashes. “All dogs owned or kept within the limit of the town shall be restrained from running at large or shall be kept within the immediate control of their owners and keepers,” the bylaw states. Citizen dog owners are expected to comply with this bylaw, and yet anyone who has visited Lambert’s Cove Beach in the last five years can clearly observe 80 per cent of the dog owners failing to comply with the law.

I attended the selectmen’s meeting on April 11 and listened to a grandfather remark that he will not bring his nine grandkids to Lambert’s Cove Beach due to the health dangers present with canine feces along the trail and on the beach. The dog owners who do deposit waste into the green “doggie pot” in the parking area leave us with a foul-smelling fly-infested landmark that is an unpleasant starting point to the walk down the trail to the beach, even on a mild April day.

Who and what is this private dog-oriented town watch group? From what laws do they derive any rights? The beach monitors they have pledged to hire will be paid by dog owners and will act on behalf of dog owners.

By my observations in recent summers on Lambert’s Cove Beach, dog owners have come to allow their dogs to run on the beach, while others who do not have dogs have come to enjoy the experience of just sitting on the beach. The conflict is obvious and having a nascent paid dog patrol on the beach is not the answer. The answer is the 75-25 compromise in favor of dog owners — a pretty good compromise weighted in favor of the dog owners. For the sake of comparison, at the Joseph Sylvia State Beach in Oak Bluffs dogs are banned for five months of the year.

It would be nice to see strict enforcement of existing bylaws coupled with responsible dog owners who respect the rules as well as their neighbors who do not wish to spend time with dogs in their face.

It’s called being a good citizen.