"Hey...I want to come too!"

by Rosemary Serluca-Foster

Though signs were posted at the May Street Fair, I apparently did not notice that pups (or any other animal, amphibian or reptile) were banned from our local street fairs.

Come on, really? I see people with their dogs all the time!

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by Tina Traster

Everyone said owning chickens is great but you’ve got to watch out for predators. I took this to heart because we share our wooded mountaintop home with hawks, raccoons, foxes and feral cats.

I bought a custom-made coop from a guy who builds them in Michigan. The little green, wooden house has screened windows, a door with a hasp, and a hatch that lifts open to the nesting box where you collect eggs. The run, which is attached to the house, is made up of two wood-framed galvanized wire triangles that form an airtight enclosure.

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by Tina Traster

I hear his step before I feel his bare arms around me. His embrace is like a warm sweater. My nose is pressed against the chilled window. I never tire of watching snow fall. Tonight it is falling hard. It is piling like tufts of whipped cream on the concrete bird bath, the green birdhouse I decorated with a red cardinal, the picket fence. The storm silences the mountain pass. Boxwoods droop like slackened shoulders under the weight of eight or so inches. Tree branches groan each time they smack against the clapboards.

“It’s so beautiful out there,” my husband whispers, kissing the crook of my neck.

“I know,” I say, pulling him even tighter around me.

“It is beautifully surreal — but I worry about the animals.”

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by Rosemary Serluca-Foster

A number of dogs have been spotted off leash roaming through our village, both with owners and without. This is not only illegal, but also dangerous, putting the members of our community and other animals at risk.

You may think your dog is friendly and can handle being off-leash, but you can’t predict how it will react to a surprise encounter with another dog or person. Recently, on separate occasions, unleashed dogs charged my leashed one. Thankfully, the owners were close by to retrieve their unruly, excited pets.

Here’s the deal:
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By Rosemary Serluca-Foster

Back in September, after having adopted our sweet dog Ginger, I lamented that our lovely village lacked a pet supplies store (which then of course prompted me to wish very hard for one).  Well it seems there really is something to the old adage ‘be careful what you wish for’ because one recently opened up. And lucky for our pets, it’s wonderfully health-driven.

My Buddy-N-Me Wellness Center, located at 85 South Broadway, is a complete wellness and holistic emporium, run by the very affable and incredibly knowledgeable local Nyacker, Gail Rossi. Continue reading →

Bill Marple says the paw prints were a sure sign that something unusual was lurking in the woods near Palisades, NY. “Cat tracks are perfectly round,” he noted during an August interview in Sneeden’s Landing. “Even if you can’t find the digits, you can identify that it’s a cat or a dog.” He was sure it was a cat — and based on the paw prints — a very large one.

Marple is Director of Operations for SFI Tracker, a non-profit group that provides tracking teams to assist in search and recovery efforts. Orangetown hired SFI Tracker for two weeks last August after six months of big cat sightings in Sneeden’s Landing and Tallman State Park.

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by J.C. Brotherhood

Murphy, the former faux mayoral candidate, regular April 1st NyackNewsAndViews.com contributor and our favorite Big Dog, passed away on Oct 17.

It is with deep sadness and regret that we learn of former Mayoral candidate Murphy’s untimely death.  He brought much joy and happiness to everyone who knew and loved him. It is a very sad time for the whole family especially since we all knew how much he had personally vested of himself in his neighborhood. His passing leaves a large hole that will not be so easily filled.

I guess we will never know who Murphy would have endorsed.

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The blogosphere, that imaginary space between the stratosphere and the Dark Side of The Moon, produced two strange tales last week about wild animals and future acts of god in our corner of the Lower Hudson Valley.

The mysterious wild animal known as the Piermont Panther has reappeared. It was first seen on the TrackinCats.com Website as early as 3/18 followed by the  Journal News in April,  a June sighting in the New Yorker and most recently on the Rockland Lifestyle blog. Despite the April 1 dateline, Journal News writer Ben Rubin insisted this was *not* an April Fool’s prank.

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Kakiat Park in Montebello and its popular dog run will be closed until further notice. A construction project is underway to replace several wooden footbridges that cross the Mahwah River. Work will continue through mid-September.

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Nyack, April 1:  It’s official. The Nyack mayoral race has gone to the dogs. Murphy Zornow has decided to run for public office.

It seems like the past 12 months in Nyack could have been The Year of The Dog with canines taking to the streets on issues from the controversial No Swim Zone at Memorial Park to a proposed dog run in South Nyack. Candidate Murphy says the time is right for this population to vocalize their concerns.

Here’s the Big Dog’s position on the village’s big issues:

• Nyack’s proposed budget: Murphy supports canceling the annual fireworks displays on July 4th and New Years Eve (he doesn’t like loud noises).
• Riverspace: Anything that brings more people to town to admire, scratch and pamper the village pets is a good thing. But if we can build it without any noise, that would be better (he doesn’t like construction noise, either).
• Streetscape Beautification: The Canine Crowd favors sweet smells and interesting patterns on the sidewalks. But don’t forget to add dog drinking fountains.
• South Nyack Dog Park: The paw people of Nyack say “I Want My Place-To-Pee!” Read his position paper from last year.
• Noise Ordinances: Granted, Rock and Roll will never die, but old dogs need their quality sleep. If elected, Murphy would extend the noise ordinance, to start at 12am through 11:59pm the following day.
• New Tappan Zee Bridge: Because dogs were never consulted on the design of the current TZB, there’s no path to Tarrytown to sniff around in the Far East. Murphy will support the new bridge if there’s a walkway for four-footers. And make it wide enough for bikers, too (cyclists are fun to bark at).
• Bank Handouts: He’s in favor of bank handouts – especially the dog treats they hand out at  HSBC.
• New Memorial Park: More open space is a good thing. And regarding a dedicated baseball field – dogs have ways of marking fair and foul without drawing white lines. Why can’t humans do that too?

Murphy wishes the best to other declared candidates for Mayor and the Village Board. He looks up to all of you, along with most of the rest of the other bipeds in Nyack.