There are much better and legal ways to advertise searches for lost pets: neighborhood bulletin boards, local Queens newspapers, blogs, local TV stations like NY1,local churches & social clubs, etc. I know there is a NYC law prohibiting personal postings on public property. Is anyone taking any responsibility to oversee the removal at some future time?
Our questions are:
1) How long is this “campaign” going to last? It’s already been a month since the dog was lost. Are we going to see the continued proliferation of posters throughout Queens (and probably other boroughs) over the near future?
2) Why is the NYC Department of Sanitation not enforcing their laws or at least contacting the people responsible for overseeing this “project”
3) Is someone taking responsibility to REMOVE these posters after the lost dog is found or after a certain time lapse (3 months, 6 months, 1 year)? Suggestion: post a request to those who volunteered to put the flyers to also take them down. Lost dog owner: please request that on your Facebook page! You also stated that you have receipts of the monies spent from public donations. Please post them on your Facebook page so everyone knows this is not a scam.
4) Will the companies “helping” this effort also take responsibility to clean up our neighborhoods once the dog is found or after a certain time?
5) What happens to the excess money that’s collected and not spent? How about a commitment to donate it to a reputable animal organization (e.g. ASPCA, North Shore Animal, etc.)?"
- Anonymous
54 comments:
When our dog took of on an adventure in January 2014 I put up two dozen "lost dog" posters in strategic locations throughout our neighborhood. After he was found (and what a miracle that was), I went back out and took down all of the flyers that I had posted.
Two dozen posters is not the same as the thousands these folks have plastered all over Queens. They will never take them all down.
Ihave no problem w/ someone searching forca beloved pet. Now those junk car ads are another thing altogether......
Everyone has a smartphone. How come there are no smartphone pictures of these sightings to confirm that they are legitimate before posting additional hundreds or even thousands of new flyers in a neighborhood?
How are they going to catch this lost dog if the flyer request the person to call the phone number on the flyer? Will they dispatch some one immediately? What if they receive 20 calls spread out throughout Queens, since the map shows hundreds of flyers posted all over the borough?
I've heard there were sightings in Astoria, Corona, Glendale, Jackson Heights, LIC, Maspeth, Rego Park,
RIdgewood, Sunnyside, Woodside, Bayside, Bellerose, College Point, Douglaston, Flushing, Floral Park, Fresh Meadows, Fort Totten, Kew Gardes, Forest Hills, Howard Beach, Ozone Park, Woodhaven, Richmond Hills, Laurelton, Queens Village, Rosedale, Jamaica, Brad Rockaway, Belle Harbor, Breezy Point, Broad Channel and Rockaway Beach. When are you going to post flyers in these neighborhoods? How about doing your flyer "BLAST" in these areas? (Did I miss anyone?)
Heard from some reliable sources that Mary was spotted several times in the South Bronx and Upper Manhattan. She most likely found her way to the Triboro Bridge which have pedestrian walkways connecting Queens with Bronx and Manhattan. You should pack up immediately from Queens and center your concentration in those areas before Mary finds her way to the GW bridge into New Jersey! NJ is a much much larger state and I estimate you will need 50,000+ flyers to cover that area!!
Could this whole thing be bogus?
I'd rather these than all the bullshit for yard sales - those people should really be ticketed - they NEVER take their signs down!
Enough with all the polluting litter! Why don't we have DOS employees ticketing illegal signs - give them Saturday & Sunday and then ticket on Monday - they'd make their salaries back in a heartbeat in disgusting, filthy, broke-down Queens!
Although I support an effort to find a lost dog, it's not in the same league as the Avonte Oquendo search. He was the autistic boy who was missing in LIC. Flyer-wise, this lost dog search seems to way surpass that. Maps on the internet, flyer distributions by businesses, etc. What's next? National TV exposure, organized search & rescue teams?
Was this lost dog part of this loving family for 5, 10, 15 years? I support this if that's true!
I see that they are raising money through a FUNDME website to pay for more illegal flyers. Why not use this money to place an ad in one or more of the Queens newspapers - Queens Tribune, Queens Courier, Times Weekly, Forest Hills Times, etc. Better and LEGAL way to spread the word of the "Lost Dog"
They wrote a rambling response.
Just post them in store windows. They will last longer that way and it's the 100% legal way to do it. We will be seeing these flyers years from now. You have the right to look for a lost animal and we have the right to a clean neighborhood. Both can be achieved.
"Was this lost dog part of this loving family for 5, 10, 15 years? I support this if that's true!"
Nope, she was just adopted. And you should never support littering.
The funny thing is that they think I wrote this. They don't understand that this was submitted by a person in the community who wishes to remain anonymous. I actually received this complaint from 3 different people. If you don't agree, just submit your rebuttal. All comments have been posted.
Having been part of a lost dog effort (considerably smaller and no Fund Me) I can tell you that these campaigns do work. The dog ran out of during a house fire in Rego Park and was found by the owner a month later in Cypress Hills Cemetery after several calls from Middle Village to Glendale to Cypress Hills. If you have ever been a dog owner you understand. And yes, I stopped for weeks to pull down flyers after the dog was found.
I frequently take photos of these lost dog and cat signs and post them in a Queens Lost and Found group only to be told that the pet was found months ago. I'm glad some of the campaigns work but NO ONE takes down the flyers once the case is resolved.
Has John Liu paid his fines for all the illegal political flyers that he had put up?
I prefer flyers that might aid someone in finding their lost dog than those plastered around by politicians.
My favorite lamp posting is,
"Lose 30 pounds in 30 days for only $30".
Now, that's a flyer that gets right to the point!
And that was put up about 15 feet off the ground.
Bravo! Very enterprising! And athletic too!
I tolerate this to a degree. Multiple flyers on one pole is overkill. Posting them on parkland is unacceptable. Post them along commercial corridors where there is a lot of foot traffic and not in front of houses. And store windows are perfect locations that are both legal and protected. This way when the campaign ends the owner can just take it down.
Only in New York City would people complain about someone trying to find a fucking lost dog.
https://www.facebook.com/FindMaryTyler/posts/1593215720964890
Queens Crap is being called as an anonymous blogger. You are being called out on facebook by these dog owners looking for Mary whatever. At least 400 words in one unformatted paragraph.
EXCERPT:
WE do not do this for our guilty pleasure of going out everyday after work to try and find her. Hours and days have been spent tirelessly trying to get those sightings. 2) I cant answer that 3) Yes we have every intention of cleaning up flyers once she is found. The map is not only there to know where flyers have been posted but to remember where to take them down as well. Clearly, you just assume. Just because someone else might not have done it, does not mean we would not take them down if she was found. 4) What companies? It is a team of dedicated volunteers. 5) Mary Tyler was adopted from a shelter, and any excess money of course would be donated. If you were a little more intuitive then you would realize there are receipts being posted. We are not scamming anyone, and we surely are not doing this for fun. You think we want to be posting flyers........ yada yada yada
See that's the thing. No one is complaining about people looking for a lost dog. They are complaining about the way they are going about it, by illegally postering. Only in NYC are people too dense to understand the difference. Plenty of alternatives have been suggested by the people posting here. Pay attention, doofus.
As I explained previously, this was sent in by someone. I didn't author the post, so this person needs some reading comprehension lessons. They can write what they want, the fact is that illegal postering is unnecessary to find this dog. There are plenty of other ways to get the word out, like posting the flyers legally on community bulletin boards, in churches and supermarkets and in store windows. They can pitch the story to local news media and use social media, which doesn't require fundraising. Complying with the law is not too much to ask.
A few years back, streets were plastered in wanted posters looking for the killer of George Gibbons. He was located nowhere near here and the posters stayed up for more than a year. The people who put them up didn't bother to take them down. The worst part is they were more like stickers and damn near impossible to remove.
The missing dog's owners raked in $775 via gofund me>>>
http://www.gofundme.com/pzvw2c So go find me morphs into go fund me.
NY hipsters! Go find that hound!
If the people posting these flyers care about their lost animal the way I do about my pets (and I'm sure they do), then I absolutely understand why they are posting so many flyers. Any true animal lover like myself look at our pets as their family members and they are desperate to be reunited with their loved one. If you lost your child, would you want people like you getting in the way to stop you from finding her? No. If this bothers you, simply look away and let it blend into the background.
What's even more appalling is that some of you are encouraging everyone to harass the grieving family and call them up constantly because their piece of paper bothers you. Its utterly disgraceful. The family is going through enough grief and people like you are making it worse. This isn't car or jewelry advertisements, it's someone looking for their family member. When/if they find them, they should go back and take them down. Don't let this bother you. Be grateful it didn't happen to you.
To the creator of this bulletin, I find it ironic that you have such strong opinions about this topic and are causing such a fuss but hide behind an anonymous name. Deep down it's because you know this is heartless. I say stand behind your words and identify yourself if you feel so strongly about this topic.
The person asked to be anonymous because some of these rescuers are insane and he likely doesn't want to be harassed. He said in his post that he supports the effort to find lost pets. It's either all or nothing with these people. If you dare criticize the means they choose to get the word out, even though it's illegal, they relentlessly harass you. They'll go so far as to make death threats. The person is wise to ask that his name be withheld.
I still don't understand what is so hard about advertising this lost dog using legal means. Of course we all hope she is found and to suggest otherwise is ridiculous.
I'd think the best way to find the dog is to send the flyer to local vets, rescue groups and the pound because if someone does find her, they are going to bring her to one of those locations. Plastering every neighborhood in Queens in flyers isn't the best use of time. Canvassing suspected locations is more important and postering takes manpower away from that.
[sigh]
I honestly don't believe anyone commenting here doesn't feel badly about someone losing their pet dog. My family had beagles when I was growing up (out in the sticks, by the way) and they were very sweet animals. I missed them very much when they passed on many years ago.
Living in the city now, I don't have dogs or even one dog. Personally, I wouldn't want to restrict a dog to just a house or apartment and a couple of walks outside a day. In my opinion, it really isn't fair to the dog given how much they enjoy being outside provided it isn't bitterly cold or raining. (or at least that's how the beagles my family had were).
Now honestly, this excessive campaign of illegal flyers really is a cry for help but not in the way most people see it. Whoever initiated this and went to such extremes to find this dog needs some sort of professional help - counseling - medication - SOMETHING!
Whoever would go to such lengths must have serious difficulties relating to other human beings and/or suffer from an exceptional amount of antipathy for his/her fellow men and women.
Sadly, this is becoming increasingly common in American society today. It seems many have given up on helping other people and just want to save cute, cuddly animals.
To give you an idea of how strange this seems to me, let me tell you about a memory I have. I was watching TV right after the horrible earthquake in Haiti in 2010. On the news there were scenes of unbelievable devastation and Haitian families - mothers and little babies starving among the rubble.
Then, it went to a commercial and, I kid you not, on came that spot with Wendy Malick talking about preventing cruelty to animals and asking for money (to help the animals!).
Now I ask you, doesn't this seem as if certain people have their priorities screwed up?
I grant you animals are fascinating. And pets CAN be wonderful. They are usually adorable. They make us feel better and are often affectionate. But, they ARE NOT PEOPLE. Losing a pet is NOT the same thing as losing a wife, a husband, a son, a daughter, a mother, a father, etc.
I blows my mind that having to write this is EVEN NECESSARY.
To those of you who are part of this hysteria, I urge you to take a very hard look at yourselves and the lives you're leading.
Seriously.
Well I wouldn't go that far. But the comment above that claims the original poster is "heartless" when he/she actually expressed hope that the animal is found and simply questioned the way these folks are going about it give you an idea of how sensitive and out of touch with reality some pet owners are today.
Amazing how you only post negative comments and only what you want to appear here my queens crapper. This blog is nothing but crap and the people posting here are as insensitive as you clearly are and thats extremely sad. All bent out of shape over paper hanging on a pole. The dog is skittish the fliers will help with sightings she wont go to "anyone" stick to what you know complaining about said flyers
I'll take a dog over most people anytime........
Human priority: simply put- if all the volunteering, flyer postings, monies donated were re-directed to finding Brian Gewirtz, found dead in Marine Park on Friday after being missing for 44 days, he may have been found alive. Lost dog vs human life?
I didn't post only negative comments. I did refrain from posting comments that were threatening and/or called people who have a differing opinion disgusting names.
The comment regarding calling the number to complain about the posters was removed. People should cal 311 if the posters are in inappropriate places. I know dozens appearing on parkland have already been removed by city workers. If you're upset about that, perhaps you should direct your anger toward these city agencies instead of commenting anonymously and then complaining when others you disagree with do the same.
And yes, I'd take a dog over most humans any day as well, but that's not the discussion here.
God forbid you ask someone to work within the law and ask straightforward questions about their process. You get branded an animal hater. Do you really think anyone here wants a bad outcome for the missing dog?
I just don't understand the strategy of posting multiple flyers on one pole and posting them on poles a few feet apart. These things cost money and the people posting them are wasting it and their energy by doing this.
I agree that seeing 20+ flyers on one block is a waste of time, money and resources. If I walk on a block and see 1 or 2 flyers of the same message, I get the point! It's almost an intrusion on neighborhoods and disrespectful when you see the same flyer on EVERY lamp post on multiple blocks. Can't the issuer of these flyers instruct the volunteers to just post a few on each block and therefore spread the flyers to a larger area? That would be more effective and perhaps calm down the protests I Am seeing
If people had used this many flyers in 1930 we could have found Judge Crater !
Are people really this upset about flyers on public light posts? People, it is not that serious!!! It's also not your private property. Let the city worry about it. Trust me, if they have a problem with it they will take the flyers down.
I happen to live in middle village and must admit I had not noticed the Flyers until I ran into some volunteers last week while my husband and I were walking our dogs at night. They were lovely girls. I ran into them again a few days later. Apparently volunteers leave their full time jobs and go every night searching and posting. The one thing that was obvious both times is that these people are desperate to find their dog. As I have dogs I love like they were my blood children, I get it.
While I did notice afterward that some poles have multiple flyers I read up on lost dogs (I got nervous about my own) and saw that this is what some professionals suggest!! Here's the thing, the flyers are not ideal but not everyone reads papers or blogs, has facebook, etc. So how would people know who to call if the dog is spotted without having seen a flyer? Newspaper ads cost money. I'm guessing significantly more than flyers. Why not just leave these people alone to find their dog?! I would leave no stone unturned and flyer every pole in every neighborhood if one of mine went missing! I personally think to tear down the flyers is evil. To ask people to harass them is equally evil. The original author of this post wanted to remain anonymous to avoid harassment yet he/she (or others - can't tell) is encouraging just that? This just seems so wrong, so mean. I hope people reading this just leave this alone. We have much bigger issues than lost dog posters on our streets. Priorities, people!
My priority is keeping my neighborhood clean. I'm sorry a dog is lost, but posting dozens of flyers on one block isn't going to do anymore to find her than posting only 2 or 3. Why make city workers clean up your mess? I know they have been busy removing these flyers from the park near my house. Why bother posting them there if you already posted them just outside the park? You have to pass those to get to the park in the first place.
"I happen to live in middle village and must admit I had not noticed the Flyers until I ran into some volunteers last week"
I guess the flyers haven't been working all that well if you had to have volunteers point them out to you. What this kind of campaign generally does is lead to false sightings. You'll have people calling in everything from a German Shepherd to a Chihuahua but claiming that they saw this dog. I see this on Facebook all the time. "Here's a photo of a stray dog I saw near the LIE. He's all black. Could this be Fido?" No, Fido is tan.
This many people don't come out to look for lost kids. Sad but true.
I don't mean to offend but if your priority in life is to clean your neighborhood that is a very sad, sad thing. Perhaps consider volunteering or doing something so that your time and energy is not consumed by public property aesthetics.
That really is one of the dumbest comments I've read thus far. Keeping your neighborhood clean should be a priority for everyone. I and many others take time to personally remove graffiti, illegal flyers, and litter on a regular basis. That's called "volunteering". There are neighborhood cleanups at least once a month in my area. Maybe some of you should do the same.
The owner of this lostdog who is organizing the flyer blasts stated they are taking responsibility for the eventual removal of the hundreds posted in queens (they are shown on a map on their Facebook page). Let's give them a few months and we can then judge if they are keeping their promise, unless the Dept of Sanitation enforcement takes over.
Middle villager here. I didn't notice the flyers because like most New Yorkers I'm always in a rush and my head is buried in my phone, as much as I hate to admit. They were only around the park as far as I could tell and most have been taken down since. I was also told yesterday that someone went around complaining tearing them down and throwing them in the sewer so that may also be why I didn't see them sooner. To do that is also so wrong and maybe even illegal itself. I don't know. I hope that's not true and was just a rumor because I hate to think one of my own neighbors could be so malicious.
I keep thinking if everyone would be this angry over the same flyers about a missing person. Would they be torn down in anger? What if your parent or child went missing in your neighborhood, just ran off?? Would you not post on every pole out of hope and desperation? Would the critics on this thread still feel the same way? If the answer is no then what this really comes down to is the value of human life over animal life. It's a personal matter. I personally value ALL life.
The flyers are being taken down in and around parks by PARK WORKERS by order of the commissioner. Please stop your rumors. And no, I would be smarter about finding a lost loved one than posting flyers every 5 feet out of desperation. I'd call every news outlet in creation and put pressure on the cops. Very rarely is a lost person found because of a flyer. It's newspapers, TV and law enforcement that get the job done in that case. The people who pay attention to news are going to be the ones most likely to be paying attention.
I just want to confirm the facts stated by a previous comment - the Parks Department is the one removing the flyers (including Juniper Park). They are only enforcing the NYC law. Why is everyone bent out of shape about abiding the law? If they think it's wrong,don't break the law Contact your city council person, the Commissioner of Park and/or the Commissioner of Sanitation to get the law repealed.
Just to let you know the volunteers that are looking for Mary reached out to Brian's family, the missing young man from Marine Park. Brian's mom met the volunteers and provided them with flyers of Brian. They posted those....so it's not just about a dog. These people care....period! Be thankful there are people that still do.
They posted those where? I see plenty of dog flyers and no Brian flyers. Shouldn't they have been posted together?
The geniuses that posted these flyers on Metro did so in upside down plastic sleeves. The posters are slipping out the bottom. I bet they'll blame the locals for this.
I probably have seen over 50 Lost Dog flyers in my travels but not one Brian flyer. When did the volunteers post the Brian ones? I guess now it's too late.
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