The Second Ave. Subway construction isn’t even for the dogs, according to irate pet owners along the Upper East Side. Although a recent study conducted by MTA contractor Parsons Brinckerhoff found no concerns with the air quality along Second Avenue, residents have continued to claim that dust and debris from the blasting is creating unsafe conditions for people. Now, canine lovers say their dogs are suffering as well.
As DNA Info’s Serena Solomon reports, pup owners say their animals are suffering as well. Some dogs have been coughing with runny noses while others are exhibiting skin conditions and “psychological issues” relating to the ongoing subway blasting. “As soon as the sirens go off, the whole building starts barking,” dog owner Noura Insolera said. Her dog Winnie, she explains, “runs back and forth, scratches at the walls, tries to jump out the window.”
Even if the air quality isn’t impacting these pups’ lives, their owners say the animals have either become skittish or lethargic in the face of more blasting. Color me skeptical, but it seems as though dogs are just the next pawn in the great NIMBY fight against a new subway line.
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You could make a pretty good counter-argument that people who keep anything but the smallest dogs in NYC apartments clearly do not care much about the welfare of said dogs. I can actually see both sides of this issue — I’ve known some apartment dogs that seemed pretty happy when their masters were at home — but I’d be pretty willing to bet that 50 years from now, it will be illegal to keep dogs in city apartments because it will be thought to be cruel. Just a guess.
Not only that, but it has been pointed out that some people, because of their understandable fears of crime, keep big dogs that are totally unsuitable for apartment living. It’s not only their concern about burglaries and “push-in jobs”. They figure that nobody is safer on the street than someone who is walking with a big dog.
Is it also cruel to have children in an apartment?
Yes, cruel to the poor parents 🙂
Depends how many, and how large an apartment. There really is a minimum square footage below which it’s “overcrowding”.
Large dogs need a lot more running space than small children, though. I presume some dog owners exercise their dogs religiously, but others clearly don’t.
Regarding the initial topic — dogs do tend to be more sensitive to noise and vibrations than humans. But this is NEW YORK CITY. There are trucks, sirens, building construction, etc. — the subway excavation is, basically, nothing new. They should just deal with it.
This project has gone to the dogs
Dogs, by nature, want territory and to be outside. Few of them can tolerate being alone all day – they think they’ve been abandoned and start barking in hopes of somehow bringing the owner back. 9 hours later, the owner returns and the dog learns that “if I bark my lungs out, my world (the dog’s owner) will return, maybe”.
So it’s not OK to have a dog here, unless it’s specifically bred and trained for city living AND it has someone/an animal sibling to keep it company. If you’re too fearful to live in the city, move.
[…] truck service into and out of the site. They have bemoaned dust and have even tried to claim that their dogs are suffering animal post-traumatic stress from the constant blasting. I’m sure once the subway is open, they’ll complain about […]
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