I have noticed recently
that there are a lot
more dog owners
around who are walk-
ing their dogs off-ieash
along residential
streets.

And why not?

The owners don’t get
pulled along the walk,
wrenching their shoulders
out of joint because their
dogs can’t be walked on
leash properly. The dog gets
to sniff and walk around at
their own pace, uninhibited

<<" by restrictive commands such

“as heel. They get to, cruise
through other peoples front
“2 gardens and lawns leeving,
“nice piles of dog manure
behind to help fertilize the
oil —- how kind! '  - ”

Owners don’t have to
pick up their dog’s poop
ecause they don’r know
exactly where their dog is ...
phew, no stinky poop bags to
carry. And people driving
along the roads get to test

the brakes of their car when

the dog bolts across che
strect after a squirrel, cool!
You know, when I think
of it this way, it does sound
pretty neat... NOT!

The reason I am bringing
this subject up is to address
the issue of responsibility
when walking a dog off-leash
along the strect. But also to
share a story of irresponsibil-
ity gone awry, giving others
a realiy bad name.

_ While walking my dogs in
my neighbourhcod the other
morning, I was confronted
with the worst-case scenario
of an irresponsible dog
owner walking pvo out of
control dogs off-leash.

As the woman stood on
the side walk at the edge of a
playing field, hopelessly
screaming at her two large
dogs, to “Come herci” I
looked for an cscape route.
The first dog, a large
Chesapeake Bay Retriever
was running full steam
towards a woman out fora

- sharply in the

jog across the street. The
other dog, a large rottweiler,
was running full steam
towards me
and my dogs.
Suddenly,
something
caught this 4

log's eye ani
he turned

direction of
the playing
field.

What was
it that caught his eye? It was
a mother playing with her
toddler on the grass. I
looked back at the owner of
these dogs, and she had dis-
appearea. Horrified, I ran
with my leashed dogs
towards the rottwciller and
yelled at him. This caught his
attention and he directed his

Safeway Club Card

“The other dog,
a large Rottweiler,
was running full
steam towards me
and my dogs. ”

charge back at me. The dog
then stopped short of me
and began to posture domi-
nancy, and
that’s when I
notice he was
unneutered.
The owner

out from
behind a tree,
to sneak a
peek, When
she saw that I
noticed her,
she began to quickly walk
away. . :
Furious with her, I yelled,
“Come and get your f***ing
dogi” She ignored me and
her dog’s actions and kept
on going. Id like to point
out that the word “ignore,”
is also in the word ignorant!

Granted this is a case of
extreme stupidity, but can
you imaging what could have

pened?

Walking with your dog
off-leash entails a great deal
of responsibility and involves

‘training your dog to respond °

to voice commands perfectly.
It should not be done
because your dog cannot be
walked on-leash because of
whatever behaviour problem
ic has. That is why you are
supposed to train it!

if you enjoy walking your

Call oF ‘drops by for more

4 1600 Mackay Rd, North Van

then popped

dog off-leash along the street
be aware of what your dog is
doing. —~
Don’t let it poop in pe
ple’s yards; pick up after it if
it does. Don’t let it roar
aimlessly ahead of you or
wreak havoc with joggers or
other pedestrians,
If you cannot control =
your dog, put it on its leash.
he bylaw in North
‘ancouver siates that your
Gog must remain on Ieash at
ail times, unless you are on
your private property or you
are in a designated off-leash _
area. Sidewalks and strects
are not designated off-leash
areas. _
" If your off-leash dog =~
injures someone or causes an
accident, you could be 100%
lieble. we
Personally, I do not walk
my dogs off-leash on the
sircet. Squirrels are their, -.*
nemeses and I could not
bear to lose them to the
wheels of a car. So be a ge
dog owner and act res;
bly. :