People who refuse to leash their dogs in Maplewood/S.O. parks archived

I was in the park this morning with my 18 month old son. It was fairly early-ish -- maybe 10:30. There was a mom there with her daughter and this HUUUUGE black dog, running freely around the park, no leash. It made me pretty nervous so I asked the mom, politely, if she would please leash her dog. She said "are you here with anyone?" I said "yes, I am here with my son" (I guess she could not see him in jungle gym). She said, "no, I'll just keep him over here", and continued to have him run freely in the park. I said "please, I think it's the law", and she just ignored me. Another parent showed up and he said this is pretty unusual and most people keep their dogs on leashes. I see it alot in Memorial Park and once I asked someone to put the leash on -- she refused at first but I guess she felt badly so she complied. I'm just amazed at the attitude of the dog owners who flatly refuse to leash the dog when small children are aro:cry:

oooodiane...which park were you in??? Just curious...

Here we go again....

If you have a cellphone with a camera on it take a picture of the dog running loose. Make sure the dog owner sees you. Then ask the person nicely to please leash their dog. If they say "No!" Walk away with the cellphone by your ear as if you are making a phone call. Chances are they will think you are calling the police. Either they will leash the dog or leave.

oooodiane, that woman sounds like a total bitch. I would've been really stern with her and demanded she put the dog on a leash. If I had a cell phone, I would've called 911 right then and there to teach her a lesson. And they probably could've fined her. That's illegal to walk a dog without a leash, and very selfish on the dog owner's part. The only place a dog should be able to run free is in the owner's house, or yard, if it is fenced in.

Some dog owners can be so selfish. Just because they feel that their dog is harmless, that doesn't mean that a stranger might be nervous in front of the animal.

T-Berger
Call 911 because someone doesn't have their dog on a leash in the park? Please tell me you're kidding? How is that an "emergency?" Chances are by the time the police get there either the person will put the dog on the leash, or left? If you really feel the need to call the police, first take a picture of the free running dog with your cellphone for proof. Do NOT call 911 to report a dog without a leash. Call the regular non emergency number for the police department.

Tell them that there is a very nicely constructed new dog park in the reservation, on So Orange Ave west. Invite them nicely to take their dog there and if they continue to ignore you, call the police. Large strange dogs and little children are not a good situation.

As mentioned on another thread, just go to the park with steel-toed combat boots. If the mongrel charges at you, you'll know what to do.

Posted By: DEFCON CreatorAs mentioned on another thread, just go to the park with steel-toed combat boots. If the mongrel charges at you, you'll know what to do.

What about bricks?:jumping:

Good question, but carrying a bunch of bricks through the park can get tiring. I usually set up my pile of bricks near the intersection of Jefferson and Maplewood Ave. for those intellectually-challenged individuals who can't understand what a stop sign means.

Ugh. We were in South Mountain Reservation last night on the paved path, and a woman had her two dogs with leashes on.....but she wasn't holding them. Now, these were nice dogs, and well behaved, but not everyone wants your dog to approach them. What was funny was, there were 3 motorcycles that came blasting through there -- which they're not supposed to do -- and she was trying to wave them down to tell them that motorcycles aren't allowed in this area. True, but you're supposed to have hold your dogs' leashes too.... you're just as bad as they are. She walked the whole path not holding the leashes. Then, a couple was walking in the opposite direction and the dogs went up to the woman (this was behind us as we were walking at this point) and we heard the woman scream because she was clearly not happy about the dogs approaching her. Her husband just looked at the dog lady and said -- you're supposed to hold on to the leashes.... I didn't stick around to see her response. It's just ridiculous....

Bananas are easier to throw!:wink:

Just the Aunt -

"Use your cellphone to take a picture"

You are assuming that everyone has a cellphone with photo capabilities? In my case you are correct, but not everyone does have one, and half the time the pictures come turn out poor. Yes, with further afterthought, calling 911 would be stupid, because 2 firetrucks, and 10 cop cars would probably come. Most towns however do have an animal control unit which specializes in capturing pets. I'm not sure if they would come into play in a situation like this. I was thinking of something that could be used as a scare tactic, which would hopefully deter the pet owner from future infractions.

This may be a bit off of this thread although it does involve a dog...I need to vent because this was quite upsetting.

This morning I was moving one car from our driveway to take our commuter car out and drop my 5 year old son off at school. I heard barking from next door. This is no surprise as our neighbor has two dogs, one of which is very scary. At this point I am standing on the sidewalk in front of my house. I look up and one dog is headed for me. The other scary dog is following him and both are barking. I am standing still because I know that running into my house will just cause them to run after me. I turn my back and the scary dog bites me in the back of the thigh. I start yelling at the dog to get away and I am also yelling my neighbor's name. The neighbor never comes out side and luckily the two dogs run away from me.

I walk into the house very upset and call my husband who in turn calls the police. Two police cars show up within 10 minutes and I recount the story to them. The neighbor at this point has come outside and is giving information to the police. I call my doctor. I go to the doctor this morning and get a tetanus shot. What a great Monday.

What gets me about all of this is that this is not the first time that the scary dog has gotten out of our neighbor's fenced yard (the gate is sometimes left open) and chased some one in my family. We have also spoken to the neighbor and expressed our concern about the dog and our 5 year old. I am so glad that it was me though and not my son. If any one saw police cars on St. Lawrence around 8:15am this morning and was wondering what was going on, this is the reason.

The police said that animal control would be stopping by the neighbor's house to determine what to do about the dog. Hopefully the dog has all of his shots and I don't have to have rabies shots. I will write back when I know more of the story.

You never know how a dog will react to someone. This is a perfect example. So for all of you dog owners that think that your dog would never hurt someone and that is why you are not using a leash, think again. The dog could seriously hurt someone and you would be responsible.

unreal...hope your leg is ok, osky.

Wow! Sorry to hear about your morning, osky! Hope you mend quickly and the dog is up-to-date... Better still, I hope it never happens again.

Osky,

You need to follow through with the complaint against the neighor's dog. What if the dog decided to go after your child next? Vicious dogs that attack humans who are not threatening their owners need to be put down. (I'm sure there will be name calling on this point.)

It hurts. It is my upper thigh so unfortunately I am limited to certain positions while sitting. The dog's canine teeth broke the skin but it is not infected merely tender.

Thanks for the sentiments.

We have filed a police report and have contacted animal control. Animal control told us that we can file a complaint with the town which we will do. We are going to talk to our neighbor tonight and request that he get rid of the dog or we will file a lawsuit.

We would feel terrible if this happened to someone else.

oh boy, i would absolutely hate to be your neighbor tonight. i would be mortified. best of luck !!

Osky,

Good luck. Just think of the small children in the neighborhood.

Hmmm, ever think about taking up paintball? :devil:

Nope, too old and too slow. :crazy:

No challenge for you youngsters. :bigsmile:

deffy, i really hope you have video games to spend some of that aggression on. :bigsmile:

I haven't thought about paintball. Paintball will only bruise and I don't think that a bruise would do it. Maybe you could throw some bricks.

I was a victim of a dog bite some years ago not far from St Lawrence. A neighbor was watching her friend's dog (who happens to live in the vicinity). I was talking to the neighbor over my back fence and then the dog jumped up and bit me squarely on my right breast - although it did not look like the skin was broken initially it was incredibly painful etc. We did call the police and the Animal Control officer and most important took pictures. I also went to ER because it was on the weekend and Dr was not available.
I would never have sued anyone had the owner of the dog called me as soon as the owner learned of the incident.
Instead, the owner called me about a week later to tell me that said owner had been busy with high school graduation and prom of said owner's child etc and that said owner was sure that I understood. When I heard that I blew...It took three months for the bruises and swelling to go down and I cannot tell you how tender the bite site was...it was so painful that it hurt to even lay down to go to sleep...
Bottom line is that if this owner shows no remorse or offers any apology or explanation, I would suggest you whisper to me and I will tell you how I resolved this issue.

bgs,

I hope you didn't engage in self-help.

The neighbor did come out this morning and spoke to the police. He asked if I was ok. He said that he never lets the dogs out himself and that the dogs are not his but his kids. I said that although it may not have been intentional someone did not latch the gate and this concerns us greatly as this is not the first time this has occurred.

My husband said he is going to go over there tonight and let the neighbor know that this dog should be dealt with. If the neighbor does not follow through, I will whisper you.

Sorry to hear about your dog incident. Not only is is the wound itself, it is very emotionally draining.

Posted By: oskyI haven't thought about paintball. Paintball will only bruise and I don't think that a bruise would do it. Maybe you could throw some bricks.

Oooooh, I like the way you think!:clap: