By TJ TAUBIn college, I lived next door to some folks who had a very nice, sweet, goofy dog named Broccoli. They sneered at me when I quit letting my dog run free after she and Broccoli sauntered down an ally and across a busy street where my pup was nicked by a car. Broccoli continued to be able to run free – and ended up being dragged under a car for a mile. Still literally makes me sick to my stomach.
I share the frustration of not being able to take a relaxing walk with the dog in Los Alamos. Instead, I have to keep an eye out for unleashed dogs. While there are some responsible dog owners who actually do have control of their puppies off-leash, the majority of off leash dogs only respond to their owners when there’s nothing of greater interest in the vicinity.
I too have been told, in a disgusted tone of voice, that ‘their’ dog is friendly. That’s great and they may be friendly – but that’s not the point. My dog is friendly – to people. But she does not like other dogs and is ALWAYS on a leash. Mr. Friendly Dog comes to visit, gets the gist of my dog’s attitude and if the unleashed dog doesn’t back off, before you know it the two of them are fighting with me in the middle, trying desperately to keep them separated (never mind the damage to me and my hands dealing with the dogs and the leash …).
You want the dog to run free, have a large back yard or use a dog park. Otherwise, the rest of us are at your mercy and there isn’t much mercy out there. Council needs to address this and enforcement needs teeth.
