Dog Rodeo?
Despite the fact that this new program was implemented in the wake of the Laurelhurst dog poisonings, it was pretty clear from the onset that this program was never put in place to protect the welfare of dogs and their owners. But we never expected the enforcement to actually harm dogs. Maybe it is? My neighbor described how his dog was actually lassoed to the ground by an over-zealous parks official at Mt. Tabor, as if his gentle chocolate lab was a wild and dangerous crocodile. My neighbor was within a few feet of his dog and the two of them were only a short distance from the official off-leash area, yet no attempt was made by the park official to first communicate with the dog's owner. His dog wasn't physically injured, but the brute force treatment sure left a bad taste in his mouth. What's next? Tranquilizer guns?
posted by 2pups Link
2 comments
2 Comments:
Of course, it is entirely obvious that there can be over-zealous enforcement of any code. And perhaps this 'gentle lab' is indeed not a threat to anyone.
But their are plenty of folks with dogs who will insist that their dog is not a problem, even after that dog has viciously bitten two people walking on the public streets -- those people's 'crime' was walking in front of our neighbor's property.
I am all for fair use, by every citizen, of our public spaces.
We, too, provide house & home to a dog.
I have had one dog or another around me from early on in my life.
That said, I feel it fair to add that I find many of those with dogs outside in public are irresponsible, and are lucky to have some part of public spaces devoted to dogs. Leash laws should be strictly enforced, not only for people, but other dogs.
The reason that there are so many restrictions on dogs in public is because loose dogs are incompatible with safe & sane spaces for people.
One loose dog is not the end of the world, unless that dog happens to be particularly aggressive & territorial, or sick or scared. Two, if
they pair up, can be deadly. We had to witness two loose pit bulls tear apart another dog. And I am sick of hearing about dogs injuring or killing children -- it happens on a fairly regular basis. In many of
these cases, there is some lapse in managing dog/child interaction: dogs need to have actively supervised interaction with others.
Public spaces are for people first -- wildlife areas are for wildlife first; dog zones are for dogs; etc.
Dogs are basicallly incompatible with wildlife areas too. Even barking can drive away any number of wild critters.
I, for one, believe the leash laws, in particular, should be strictly enforced -- I've heard way too many irresponsible people say "their" dog is not a problem, and so they are excused from application of the law --
including those that have bitten more than once (we have such a dog two doors down, who now, thank god, really doesn't have much opportunity to attack walkers, strollers, joggers, bikers, etc., that happen to come by 'its' property).
Obviously, I have a lot of passion about this, having witnessed first hand any number of aggressive dog attacks on others -- I personally have had to put myself in harms way to help a child, adolescent, mom w/stroller, man on bike, or old person walking -- not only on my own street, but in public parks.
And aside from the safety issues, I'll just mention the public health hazards from animal feces -- again, some people think they should be exempt from scooper laws as well.
I have this to say to those who wish to have their dogs with them in public -- clean up your own messes, and keep your dogs on leash until you are safely in place in a lease-free zone, and quit whining about
sensible restrictions on the freedom to roam of our dog companions -- they do not have any 'right' to roam free in 'our' collective territory.
I haven't seen anything on this site that advocates that all public parks should be off-leash for all dogs at all times. There are many activities that take place in parks which have the potential and occasionally do cause injury, even severe injury to passersby; Throwingh/hitting balls, riding bikes at speed, running, etc. all occasionally result to injury to users of public spaces. As a society we allow citizens to engage in many behaviors which are perilous for both those who engage in them and innocents who might be in the area: Some of these behaviors are extremely dangerous (such as driving which results in tens of thousands of deaths, and many more injuries yearly). Just societies respond to the "threat" of various activities by looking at the actual nature, incidence and severity of the activity. Truly dangerous activities are typically, but not always, banned outright (the example of driving above). In other cases, where there is some, but not an overwhelming threat, rules are imposed to try to balance the freedom of individuals to engage in many activities, and in the case of public land this necessarily involves juggling a variety of interests. Finally, when a person or their property causes injury to another citizen, laws help to punish the parties responsible and determine whether the injured party has redress to compensation. So there are laws on the books to deal with violent dogs (dogs are euthanised, owners fined, jailed or sued as circumstances justify).
I don't think this website is asking for dispensations for dog-owners to run amok with their pets in all public spaces at all hours. I think it's saying that space for play with dogs is a major, perhaps in some parks THE major activity which users of the park desire. If the city fails to make provision for citizens to use their parks for activities the public demands, then they have failed the citizenry. Laws should be balanced to allow for as many uses as possible (and this may involve segregation into areas of a park, and restriction of hours, BUT such restrictions should be determined by the physical realities and demands for usage of the individual park. I walk through far too many parks which are entirely empty for much of the day to believe that the present restrictions are the best the city can do to balance the needs of its citizens.
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