I have several rants when it comes to inconsiderate dog owners, so I'll number this one #1. I'm sure this will be just the beginning of a long series of rants :)
Ok, so what is my first rant? People who let their dogs roam free where there is a LEASH LAW.
I live in the Village of a very small town. If you are a regular reader of my blog, then you know I have two fairly small dogs. I like living in the Village, because I like having neighbors nearby in case of emergency, and I like walking my dogs downtown in the Village. And I like that there is a LEASH LAW. There are lots of sidewalks, some grass, some streams, the perfect place to walk your dog when the weather permits it.
I live just two streets from downtown. There is a hospital practically in my back yard. I am within walking distance to several stores, restaurants, my post office, my bank, etc. You get the picture.
So I just mention the word "harness" and my dogs run downstairs to where their harnesses are hung near the front door, almost jumping out of their skin, getting all excited about their walk. I harness them up, and out the door we go.
We get to the end of my street and go down the next street over. There is a huge dog that looks like an Irish Setter and he comes right up to the sidewalk (he has NO leash on) and he starts growling. A lot. I get really nervous - not because I'm concerned about the dog attacking me, but I fear for the safety of my dogs. My dogs see the dog walking towards us and growling and Sammy goes ballistic. I quickly scoop up both my dogs, turn around and walk away very quickly. We won't be going down that street again.
We get back to Main Street and walk over the stream and the dogs stop to check out the ducks. They just like watching them, and there are probably at least one hundred little ducks in the stream. We continue our walk as far as we're going to go, and we turn down another street to loop over to our street. Out of nowhere, a huge black dog (unsure of breed) comes flying out of someone's back yard and comes straight at us. We are about 3 houses from Main Street. I once again scoop up my dogs, turn around and walk away back down the street. The black dog is barking and growling and still running towards us. Sammy is barking and snarling back which is NOT helping, but that's the least of my problems at this point. I started running down the street, back to Main Street, and back to my street.
My street is on a hill and my house is in the middle of the hill, so I have a ways to go up. I'm still running with my 2 dogs in my arms. Mind you - I said they were "small" dogs - a combined total of 44 lbs! I'm afraid for my dogs, and I'm afraid I'm going to pass out before I get home! I finally did not see the black dog anymore so right before we got home I was able to put the dogs back down again. And in the house we went.
Not too long ago, one of my mail carriers was bitten on the shoulder by a dog at the top of my street.
My question is, WHAT IS WRONG WITH THESE DOG OWNERS? My back yard is 100% completely fenced in, to keep other animals & people out and to keep my dogs safe and sound! And if I didn't have a fence, I would at least keep them on a leash while they were outside. As a responsible pet owner, I feel it's my job to keep them safe, and not to let them roam on other people's property or be a threat to anyone else.
I'm annoyed, and I'm angry that I cannot walk my dogs in peace so close to home. I'm tempted to bring mace with me next time - but for the life of me I can't picture myself using it.
If you've ever had to deal with something like this, and have any suggestions for me, please post in the comments section. It's not fair to my dogs to have their walks cut short because some people cannot contain their pets in their own yards.
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