'It Shouldn't Happen,' Say Persecuted Devens Dog Owners

"Either the dog goes or you do" took a new slant yesterday in Harvardevens as two groups of residents, one with dogs and the other with children, went to war with each other.

"Dogs should not be running around loose kissing children," said one faction, which complained that existing rules for leashes and pens were not being properly observed. Earlier they had posted a notice hinting that steps might be taken to extinguish the canine population for good if those regulations were not mere closely followed.

Fletcher Taft, resident manager of the community, admitted that dog owners had been lax in their observance of the rules, but said he had not considered mass extermination as a solution.

The 200 out of 300 families who own dogs organized a mass meeting last night, and came up with a temporary solution at least. A committee of seven was elected to lay down the law and hear complaints about further annoyances.

Residents speculated on the outcome of the flareup, and drew a parallel to the University regulation that no animals be kept in students' rooms. "But there's another rule about women in college rooms," ventured one wife. "Maybe the wives will have to leave too."