The sense of community and friendship Crystal Goodrich gets from meeting people while walking her dog, Scooby, is one of the things she likes most about living in South Portland.

Goodrich, 34, is president of the South Portland Dog Owners Group (DOG), a loose-knit but active group of residents who socialize, form friendships and develop bonds over pet ownership.

With Goodrich at the helm, DOG is vigorously opposing efforts led by waterfront homeowners to restrict pet access at Willard Beach. Current rules let dogs run off-leash at the city’s most popular beach. But a small but vocal group, known as Save Willard Beach, wants dogs off the shore in the spring and summer, for a total of six months. Or, they want dogs banned altogether.

The frequently acrimonious conflict led the City Council to appoint a task force to study this issue. Recommendations from that group, presented to the Council last month, call for, among other things, increased enforcement and education on current rules and requring dogs be kept on leash until reaching the high-water mark. The recommendations are being reviewed by the Council.

The issue has placed Goodrich, in her role as president, at the center of the debate. Goodrich, an occupational therapist, talked recently about her activism and why keeping pet access to the beach is so important to her and other dog owners in South Portland.

Q: How did you first get involved with the South Portland Dog Owners’ Group?

A: About five years ago, I adopted a dog from the Animal Refuge League, and started walking him in the city. We met a whole bunch of people, including Deb Kimball, who is one of the people who started (DOG) 15 years ago. I started going to the meetings and following the issues affecting pet owners in South Portland.

Q: Give me some background on DOG. How large is the membership?

A: We’re an informal, grassroots group that started 15 years ago, when concerns were raised about dogs in public spaces. Some owners were not keeping their dogs under control. So we sought to help through educational efforts, telling pet owners about the rules they needed to follow in order to have access to public spaces. Over the years we’ve focused on education. But we also regularly sponsor cleanups of open spaces, like Willard Beach, Bug Light and Hinckley Park… We have about 170 people who have signed on to our (online) discussion group. But there also are many others who may not take part in the discussions but still are members. We do not have a formal membership list, and we have no dues.

Q: Why is keeping beach access in the summer to walk dogs important to your group?

A: If people are not allowed to walk their dogs on Willard Beach, they will go to other locations. It will put too much pressure on other open spaces, because people need to walk their dogs. That is the No. 1 reason. The second reason is that there is such a community feeling among people who walk their dogs together every day. These are people from the Willard Beach neighborhood and from all over South Portland. That’s what they do in the summer. If dog walkers were relegated to only six months of the year – and to the six coldest and darkest months – we don’t consider that equal.

Q: Are there recommendations in the city’s newly released Willard Beach Task Force report that you feel are important to implement?

A: We all agree on the issue of better enforcement. That does not mean we think there needs to be a stronger police presence. As responsible dog owners, we should be talking to other dog owners and using peer pressure to regulate ourselves. We need to remind dog owners that their pets need to be under voice control. We definitely need support from police and animal control, but a large part of the effort needs to be education… And if the city decides to implement fees for walking dogs on the beach, we will support that, too. I haven’t met any pet owner who is not willing to pay a fee, if it means being able to continue to walk their dogs off leash on Willard Beach.

Q: How do you respond to complaints by Save Willard Beach that allowing dogs on the beach is unsanitary for people?

A: I went to about half the task force meetings. Based on what I heard, the scientific evidence shows that dog feces and urine do not pose a significant threat to people… In southern climates and on freshwater beaches, there can be a problem, if feces are left behind. Dogs and humans have co-habited for thousands of years, and the human population has survived and thrived.

Q: What about complaints that unleashed dogs may pose a safety risk?

A: Unleashed dogs could pose a risk if not controlled properly, whether on private or public property. Dogs need to be socialized and under human control, then the dog is not a physical threat. Problems happen when dogs are not socialized and do not get the physical activity they need. Safety improves and there is less crime in those neighborhoods where dogs are walked.

Q: What is your group’s view of dog parks?

A: We are not in favor of dog parks for several reasons. They tend to be too confining and not have enough space for the number of dogs they serve. One councilor suggested two acres. That is not enough space for a few hundred dogs that are walked in South Portland. Dog parks can make dogs more territorial and aggressive. They often are not well-maintained either. When cities have budget cuts, keeping up the dog parks is the first thing to go.

Q: Why do your group’s members seem so passionate about not further restricting dogs from open spaces in South Portland?

A: I hear this from people and would rephrase the question like this: What makes Willard Beach and South Portland so different from other communities that people become so impassioned and worked up over dog walking? Scarborough has more days open for dogs than South Portland does. Kennebunk does, too. Why does the response by some people in South Portland have to be so extreme?

Q: Do you support the issue of allowing dogs on the beach to go to a citywide referendum?

A: A referendum is not ideal for our goals. We want to work more with the Willard Beach task force as it goes through process with planning and education. I prefer to see South Portland like Kennebunk, which has a standing committee that handles issues and concerns about dogs. A referendum in South Portland would further divide our community. It would separate people into dog owners and non-dog owners. We prefer to work with (the opposition group, Save Willard Beach) to try to look for mutual goals.

The president of the South Portland Dog Owners Group, Crystal Goodrich, with her dog Scooby, says she is opposed to dog parks because they can be too confining and often don’t have enough space for the number of dogs they serve.