Thursday, January 15, 2009

reports from the trails

i asked julia & david to share comments so that we can better understand what's happening on the trails and what they deal with and hear regularly. they have been good enough to pass things along and here is one of the latest. this incident did take place in an on leash area- we have lots of educating to do.

Here is a note to thank you for the additional signs that remind users to keep their dogs leashed.

On December 1, 2008 I took my canine friend on a run. During our outing, a dog that was not leashed attacked my boxer. The owner was on her cell phone and was not paying any attention to what her dog was doing, nor did she have any control of her dog. Soon after the attack, I noticed that my dog had two lacerations a little over an inch each. I confronted the owner and told her that I was going to have to take my dog to the vet for treatment and that I expected her to pay for the charges. At first she resisted, but then agreed and gave me her contact information. She did follow through and paid for the care.

At the time of the incident, she did comment that since my dog was on a leash and hers wasn't, her dog felt threatened and that was why her dog attacked. That reasoning doesn't compute since my dog was inches off my side since I had tightened the lead of my dog. (mk: the reasoning also doesn't compute since it is the leashed dog who feels threatened in these situations, not the loose one)

Thank you again for the signs informing users that their dogs must be leashed at all times. I still see unleashed dogs and even people destroying sagebrush so that they can give their canines a fetching stick.

my editorial comment is that i cannot understand why anyone would be chatting away on their cell on the trail, tho i see it all of the time (well, not at 6 am, but during the day). even at the dog park an owner needs to pay more attention to their dog. not to mention the obvious issue with having a dog who bites off leash in the first place, then making excuses. sigh.

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