Dogs at Manchester town beaches: White, Black and Magnolia beaches

Article X, section 28 of Manchester's general bylaws governs every town beach. No owner or keeper may let a dog onto any town beach from April 15 through October 14. The town's page for Black Beach gives the open season as October 15 to April 14, and the Singing Beach page says dogs are allowed on any beach in Manchester for those same months. When the season opens, the at-large rule still applies: a dog off its owner's premises must be on a leash or under the direct voice command of a person able to control it.

Clean-up is written into the bylaw with beaches named first. The owner or keeper must remove and dispose of any feces a dog leaves on a beach, sidewalk or street, in a park or other public place, either by carrying it home or by using a proper waste receptacle; town storm drains, water bodies and wetlands are banned as disposal points. The Animal Control Officer can issue a notice of violation, with fines of $10, $25 and then $50, plus a $10 pick-up fee if your dog has to be collected.

The same section of the bylaw keeps dogs off town playgrounds and parks, town cemeteries, and Town Hall, public school and public library grounds, and unlike the beach rule it has no season. Masconomo Park, the Parks and Recreation park across from 60 Beach Street on the harbor, falls under it all year. The park has a community bandstand, a Little League field, a children's playground and several dozen benches along the water, and it hosts the town's Music in the Park series on summer Tuesday nights, from 6 to 8 PM. The dog stays home for the concerts.

The park's lot is often why a dog owner ends up there. The bylaw lets residents' visitor placards be used in four municipal lots, Masconomo Park among them, and the town's parking page lists about 20 three-hour visitor spaces, resident-sticker parking with no time limit, and no parking from 2 to 6 AM. The town does not say whether the lot itself counts as part of the park. If you park there with a dog in the car, leash it before the door opens and walk away from the park, not across it.

For half the year a Manchester dog has no town beach, and the daily walk has to come from somewhere else. Our at-home dog walking is one answer: a Dogtown staff member collects your dog at your door for a solo walk of 20, 30 or 60 minutes, at $25, $35 or $55, and you get a photo and a short note after every outing. Manchester-by-the-Sea is one of the towns our walkers cover, but availability depends on the street and the season, so ask us about yours.

Manchester-by-the-Sea is also a Pup Van town, so a daycare day at 210 Eastern Ave in Gloucester comes with transport for $10 each way. A full day is $42 and a half day $33, in a playgroup of 7 to 10 dogs matched by size and temperament, with splash pools on the turf yard for hot afternoons. Walks and daycare both begin with the free evaluation on a weekday between 6:30 and 9:30 AM; bring your dog's Manchester license and its Rabies, DHPP and Bordetella records.