Dogs Laws and What Can Be Done?!

[maillotpois]

Maillotpois, would you agree that an amicable resolution beats legal antagonism?

Absolutely. In fact, I am trying to shift the focus of my law practice to conducting private mediations, resolving disputes as opposed to being an advocate.

But she should still follow up on the possibility of insurance.

[spokewench]

Leash laws are okay, but are rarely enforced. We have them here, but it is impossible to enforce them.

I was riding down one of the most popular mountain biking trails just outside town this weekend and there was a woman strolling around near the bottom with 5 (count them) 5 dogs off leash!

My husband just bombs right through them really fast cause it makes him mad that they are there off leash and he feels like if he hits them it is the owner's fault for being so Stupid. I slow down cause I don't want to hurt the dog or myself , but even then you never know what they are going to do when you get close to them and it is not a good feeling.

I like dogs, but this is a town where we have a lot of dogs and I hate to say it, most of the dog owners are not very responsible. Thus, the need for laws. But again, enforcement is another thing

[roadie gal]

I agree that dogs should be under a person's control and not just running wild. But... I live in a semi rural area. I have 2 big dogs that I will leash on the streets. On the trails, though, they are off leash. I keep them in sight and under voice command. If I hear someone coming I have the dogs come to my side and sit. I pull them well off the trail if a bike is coming my way. I shout ahead to ask people coming toward me if they'd be more comfortable if I leashed the dogs. If they say yes, then I do. My dogs are never allowed to just run wild.

I don't believe that universal leashing is the answer. Being a responsible dog owner IS.

[Tuckervill]

Yeah, but no two people can agree on what being "responsible" is. Most people only THINK their dogs are under voice control. Only with the most obedient breeds would I ever trust voice control.

I took my dog for a walk today and a pit bull mix puppy came up to me, seemingly from out of nowhere. It was early in the morning. I looked around, knocked on a few doors, asked some passersby if they knew the dog. No luck. I took the puppy into my yard so it wouldn't get hit by a car. I watered and fed it, and let it play with my dog, and then shooed my dog inside so the pup could take a nap it clearly needed. I even made it a little pallet on the porch to sleep on. While I was pulling weeds, I asked some of the regular dog walkers if they knew the pup. No luck. One of them said she saw it out yesterday, too. Well, that's the deal closer for me. At 10, when Animal Control was open for intake, I took the puppy in.

The only reason I went to all that trouble for this pup is that I'm one of the few people home all day in the neighborhood, which means if it were to get hit by a car on my street, I'd be the one to hear or see it. I don't want to deal with that aftermath, and I would feel compelled to do so. So, depending on the dog and how I find it, I either call the vet and groomers in town to see if they know it, or take it to the shelter. A couple of times I have connected with the dog's owners by calling around to the dog people in town. They usually get a tongue lashing from me, but I try to be nice about it.

Secretly I hope the real owners never come for some of these dogs. They don't even know their dogs are getting out, or if they do, they're too lazy to do anything about it. This is where leash laws work to my advantage, because if they're off leash when they're supposed to be on, I have a legal standing for calling them in.

Karen