4 days ago
Stick lending library for dogs at Fresh Pond is ‘quintessentially Cambridge,' regulars say
'It's very representative of the neighborhood. North Cambridge is the best; there's so much character,' said Liceaga, 31. 'It just fits in perfectly, and it was well-timed.'
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An official from the City of Cambridge Water Department, which manages Fresh Pond, said they don't know who installed the stick library, and it was done without permission.
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Kathryn, who asked that her last name not be used, threw a stick to her Plott hound mix named Maple at Little Fresh Pond Dog Beach on Saturday, Aug. 9.
Matthew J. Lee/Globe Staff
City workers initially removed the library, but quickly
brought it back with a few modifications, hoping it would help solve the recurring problem of dog owners
'hopping the fence and breaking sticks off of live trees' in the protected resource area, watershed manager David Kaplan said in an email.
When dogs take sticks from the library and
owners replace them, park outings become easier for those who arrive without toys to throw, said John Sortino, who has been bringing Angelina, his 5-year-old golden retriever, to the pond since she was a puppy.
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'It's a great place for dogs to chase things,' Sortino said.
Around 3 p.m. on a recent Friday, soaked dogs scampered out of the water and dropped soggy sticks at the feet of their owners — or proceeded to chomp the wood to pieces.
Black and white mutt Rayne went for his first swim of the summer, laying down in the shallow water to chew sticks held between his front paws.
'It's been on my calendar for a while,' said owner Cat Sanderson, pulling salmon treats out of her fanny pack.
If a stick found in the woods survives a session of fetch, it can be placed in the library so another dog owner doesn't have to hunt for one.
That's what happened when Nicholas Kingman's wirehaired vizsla, Bailey — the 'star' of the dog beach, according to Sortino — was ready to go home. Bailey swam and retrieved again and again, dutifully dropping her stick on the ground within arm's reach.
Graeme Peel let his golden doodle, Toph, off the leash to frolic in the water at Little Fresh Pond Dog Beach on Saturday, Aug. 9. In the background is the empty stick library.
Matthew J. Lee/Globe Staff
Toph, a female golden doodle, swam with two sticks at Little Fresh Pond Dog Beach on Saturday, Aug. 9.
Matthew J. Lee/Globe Staff
'She will fetch anything, but she loves to fetch sticks,' said Kingman, explaining that vizslas were bred for bird retrieval.
About an hour later, Cambridge native Hannah Varden arrived at the pond with her white and black-spotted husky mix named after singer Otis Redding. Varden, who calls Otis her 'knock-off Dalmatian,' said there aren't enough places where dogs can go off leash and swim.
'It's a great resource to cool them off in the summer when it's really hot,' said Varden, 31.
Later, pitbull mixes doggy paddled amid the water lilies as their owners relaxed on a long curved bench. People said they were grateful for the park's newly renovated amenities, which include a stone ramp leading to the water and a sturdy wood and asphalt pier, perfect for jumping.
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Charlie Fonda, 14, brings Burke, his family's German wirehaired pointer, to Fresh Pond every other day for long walks. His parents bring the dog on his off days. During the summer, Burke enjoys the dog beach.
'I like to bring her here because she enjoys swimming a lot,' he said. 'It's a way for her to refresh herself.'
Sortino, who said he is '100 percent Italian,' named Angelina after a character in a Louis Prima song.
Graeme Peel watched his golden doodle, Toph, play off-leash in the water at Little Fresh Pond Dog Beach on Saturday, Aug. 9.
Matthew J. Lee/Globe Staff
'She's Italian. Everyone thinks I named her after Angelina Jolie,' said Sortino, adding that his dog's full name is Angelina Hannah Sophia Julia Theo Sortino.
Michael Bunis and his friend Shannon Egleson arrived at the pond with a heap of sticks for Bunis's 8-month-old Portuguese water dog, Blue. None of the sticks made it back to the library at the end of their visit.
'I need a lot of sticks,' said Bunis, a lawyer. 'We start collecting about a half mile from here.'
As the water's edge got more crowded with humans playing their role in fetch, more dogs shook water off their coats, sending drops flying everywhere. No one minded the mess.
'It's very communal, and that's what Fresh Pond at its best is all about,' Egleson said.
Claire Thornton can be reached at
