The ’80s were a wild time — the blockbuster movie took over in full force, MTV launched and quickly became a dominant cultural force, an actor was elected president, and so on. Weird decade.
So, it’s not a surprise to see a bit of an off-kilter headline while perusing the Daily Evening Item archives from that year. But, “Dog officer must do more without Moore” is certainly an eye-catcher, as is the story’s lede: “The assistant dog officer has tendered his resignation. At another time, or in another place, this might not be news. But in Marblehead, where the enforcement of leash and pooper-scooper laws has become a political priority, this is big stuff.”
As Item staffer Richard Fries tells it, residents and town officials became frustrated with the performance of Dog Officer Robert Orne, who was criticized for his “apparent lack of zeal” in enforcing the town’s laws. Orne, who said he was too old to be chasing dogs around, was given help in the form of Scott Moore, a college student who served as a “fresh set of legs” for Orne.
Moore “made all the difference in a town fed up with smelly shoes and dug-up gardens,” The Item reported.
And the numbers bear it out.
By the end of 1987, the office had issued nearly 70 citations. With furor reigning, Orne and Moore were brought before the Board of Selectmen to answer for their supposed dereliction of duty (see what I did there?). After that, Orne was forced to go before the selectmen on a monthly basis to be reappointed based on his performance.
And so, two weeks after that fateful meeting, Moore reported to the board that a total of 60 citations had been issued, totaling $1,800 in fines. Of those 60, 20 were issued for pooper-scooper violations, while the remaining 40 were for the leash law. And, the office had managed to collect $1,000 of those fines.
The selectmen lauded the performance of the “dynamic duo” and gave them another month — until Moore tendered his resignation, leaving the aging Orne to chase the town’s dogs around solo.
Moore cited no ill feelings towards the job in his resignation, simply offering to stay on through the summer (likely so he could return to his studies in the fall).
Some town officials speculated that Moore resented doing more than his fair share of the work.