Margate’s Commissioner of Public Safety, Cathy Horn, is being asked for stronger enforcement of the current, NO DOGS ON BEACH law.
According to Margate City ordinance: No dogs or other animals shall be permitted on the Margate beachfront or the waters adjacent thereto or upon any public walk contained on the beachfront. The penalty for violation of this subsection shall be in the amount of $100. [Amended 4-17-2014 by Ord. No. 20-2014]
Public comments about dogs on Margate beaches:
David K – How about changing the ordinance: Allow dogs at waters edge, but only on a leash?
Barbara W – Ventnor allows dogs on the beach from 7-9 pm. Most dogs are not leashed. One wanted to “play” with my dog & would not leave her alone. She was so scared that she tried to get away from him & wiggled out of her collar. That dog owner and another were busy chatting yards away while their dogs ran all over. Very frightening. According to police, they don’t have enough officers to enforce laws at the beach.
Ed Berger – The problem is NEVER the dog, it is always the dog owner. We see both responsible and irresponsible owners ever day, everywhere… not just on the beach.
Ellen L – A child was bitten on the beach a few weeks ago. Had to have rabies shots. Very painful.
Tony S – Maybe set a time where it is ok to have your dog with you on the beach?
Joan B – When I was a young girl, I was bit twice by un-leashed dogs. There’s signage that dogs need to be leashed, but people disregard it.
Barbara W. – There are laws and fines, but obviously not enforced.
Jamie S. – There should be an early morning and/or later evening time to walk leashed dogs and required ‘clean up after dog’ rule.
Lynda D – I run on the beach, I stop and walk past dogs. Dogs think you’re playing if you’re running. Been attacked three times running past dogs.
Why have a rule ? You do not intend to enforce .
Dogs should be allowed on a leash.
Margate does NOT enforce the No Smoking law. The only town NOT to have signs posted as does AC, Longport and Ventnor.
You people are all a bunch of chronic complainers I run past your kids too why don’t you get your room boardwalk and stay on that side of it pain in the ass only people in New Jersey with their big mouths always have something to say
Margate needs to enforce all laws. My neighbor was bit badly last year by a dog that was not on leash. No dogs should be permitted on the beach, ever. Owners should take them to the dog beach instead.
Your all or nothing thought process is unreasonable. Responsible dog owners should not be penalized for nitwits who cannot control their dogs. I personally have never seen a unwelcomed dog/human encounter. Why would it be different walking down the street or walking down on the beach?
I was always under the impression that dogs are to be leashed, wether it be on the beach or in a residential area,
I guess the entitled owners don’t think this law applies to them.
One can be bitten by a bad dog (and its owner) in the street as easily as it can on the beach.
There should be a time for dog walking on the beach from 7am to 8:30 am and from 7pm until 8:30 pm. At the least. That is before most people get to the beach and after most people leave. If you know dogs are in the beach at those times and you are afraid go at a differnt time. When I walk my well behaved dog in the street I get some people asking me why I am walking them on their sidewalk. It’s ridiculous. Perhaps a charge for a doggie beach badge will keep the stupid dog people away. But please allow some time for dogs on the beach. Thank you.
I’ve seen people bring their dogs on the beach all day and no one does a thing. Dogs are dirty by nature. During the bathing season there should not be dogs/animals allowed where people sit and walk.
That is nonsense. Many parks allow dogs. Dogs are allowed outside at many restaurants. What makes you think that the beach needs to be different.
I’m afraid of dogs. As a child, if I saw on walking to school, I ran home and my mother had to drive me to school. As animals, dogs can always be unpredictable and their owners need to be held accountable. I hope the parents of the child bitten and who needed (painful) rabies shots, sued the owner of that dog and it was euthanized. Also, dangerous bacteria is in the sand from dog excrement and urine. Who wants to walk in that? It can also infect other dogs, e.g., ecoli. NO DOGS ON THE BEACH!
Should you ban seagulls on the beach because of their excrement?
Margate Deserves Better
Just to be clear, I never asked Comm. Horn or anyone else for stronger enforcement of the dogs on the beach rules. I do feel strongly that dogs should be allowed on the beach, and their owners should be held responsible for their actions there, just like everywhere else.
Dogs should NEVER be on the beach. They urinate and poop and I walk and sit on that sand. It’s disgusting. Dog owners think their pets are children, NOT. Please keep them off the beach. Thank you.
All these things that folks describe that occur on the beach can occur on the street. If dog is leased makes no difference if you are walking on the street or the beach when
It comes to the level of safety.
I’m walking barefoot on the beach. I’m not sitting or walking barefoot in the street.
You seriously are trying to compare beach crowds on a summer weekend to the sidewalk? Good lord, you reek of entitlement.
We are talking about evenings and early am when very few on beach. What does entitlement have to do with this, or is that your new catch phrase
As a non-dog owner I appreciate the NO DOGS rule. If all of the dog-owners were careful about picking up their pet’s debris, it would be no problem, but unfortunately that’s not always the case. Our lawn in Margate too often has “stuff” that we homeowners have to deal with.
Shirley knows what she’s talking about. It is disgusting. We lay on the beach we walk in the sand as humans this is like a huge kitty litter for dogs. Families come to the beach with babies and they play in the sand. It’s disgusting unsanitary and Dog should not be allowed on the beach and by the way, I’m a dog lover.
No dogs with or without a leash. There are dog beaches. Go there. For respectful dog owners, you need to start calling out the one’s ruining it for others.
I don’t have a dog, don’t live in margate but I like dogs.
Florida and other states have dog beaches.
Yall ain’t never gonna please everybody!
Good luck!
No dogs on beach between Memorial and Labor Day. Babies crawl on the sand. We walk barefoot on the sand. Some dog owners may not have a poop bag. Use the dog beach if you feel your dog needs a beach walk. Humans have to buy beach tags for that privilege.
Dogs are animals- they are not human beings.
Two issues – 1- where we have adults & children sitting, walking, etc & dogs running around & getting a bit wild, you’re bound to have issues- we have a dig beach, use it.
2- the fact that dogs go # 1 & # 2 where & when the want, even on the beach where we walk barefoot, sit & roll around on the beach, is not only disgusting but is simply unsanitary.
Makes no sense having dogs on a public beach.
Again, there is a dog beach & dog parks- use it!
The more people I meet, the more I love ❤️ my dog!
I love my dog also, but since beaches by nature have a lot of people’s skin exposed to the sand, I take my dog to the dog beach.
This is what is called first-world problems and in an upscale beach town that is becoming more and more snobbish with the ever-increasing out of town population.
I would suggest the following:
Allow leashed dogs on the beach from 6:00 am to 10:00 am and from 6:00 pm to 9:00 pm during the summer season.
Off-season, allow leashed dogs on the beach when the beach is open.
Require all to clean up after their dogs.
The strange thing is that the overstaffed and overpaid police that basically have little to do other than the summer months could simply enforce the above starting with warnings and the majority would comply.
On a side note (and discussion) is they should merge the Margate Police and the Longport Police with the Ventnor Police.
Then the Margate and Longport Police could assist the Atlantic City Police (like the Ventnor Police do) and actually see and deal with actual criminal activity on a daily basis.
Must be nice where your town issue and crime problem issue is enforcement of dogs on the beach…
Margate is TOO NICE that is why everyone wants to move here. What can be done ? We are running out of lots.
Let’s just keep tearing down more elderly homes.
build bigger NEWER better homes SO WE CAN HAVE MORE NEW RICH, NON-RESIDENT HOMEOWNERS.
OUR PROBLEMS WILL BE SOLVED.
MAYBE EVEN NO MORE CHILDREN TO GO TO SCHOOL IN MARGATE ?
I was raised in Margate back when she was a middle class city on the Atlantic Ocean.
It was a wonderful place to grow up in. I have a ton of good memories.
Her soul is now gone.
And she ain’t mine anymore…
Allow dogs with leash morning/evening
No dogs on beach during summer season. Make e-bikes get tagged and insurances.
e-bikes doing over 30 miles per hour zipping thru red lights. Accidents waiting to happen. Make police start ticketing those who don’t abide by the driving rules.
Seems like everyone thinks it should be about me me me. And rules don’t have an effect on me.
It’s a shame but things get worse ever year. I could add many many more things to this list and I’m sure a lot of you could too.