It happened again. We were out walking our dogs on our recent trip and we pass by the person who has the ten pound dog off leash going for a stroll. The dog owner had no leash, no cleanup up bags and quite frankly no consideration for others.
Before I get on a roll here let’s first address the unsanitary issue. Dog poop. It’s just plain nasty to be walking along with our dogs to step in (or have our dogs walk through)dog poop. It’s like walking through a dog poop land mine. Every step taken has to be done with the utmost caution. One wrong step and there you stand in that pile of dog poop, again! Now I know that owners of small dogs think they don’t have to clean up after their dog but guess what? It doesn’t matter if your dog weighs ten pounds (they still poop). Pick it up. Dog poop on your shoes or your dog's paws stinks and it’s unsanitary. There are enough contraptions and bags on the market to take care of cleaning up after your dog. Buy them and use them...everywhere you walk your dog. And for heavens sake, don’t think that because you are the only person out walking your dog that no one will see you leaving the mess behind. It doesn’t matter. Take 5 seconds, clean up after your dog because it’s the right and kind thing to do.
Now, for the leash issue. When dogs travel they are in unfamiliar settings. This alone can set off a dog who is otherwise a friendly and easy going dog. On a recent trip we came down off a mountain walk with our girls only to find a dog in the street off leash and its owner sitting in his truck. Anyone who exposes their dog to an unfamiliar and risky environment where they can roam without being on a leash is, well, lets just say, careless not to mention irresponsible. Once we spotted the dog we stopped walking assuming that the owner would get his dog. He didn’t (did I mention that this was a irresponsible dog owner?). He proceeded to stand by his truck and call for his dog making no attempts to actually walk toward his dog. At that point I yelled to him, "Get your dog on a leash!!!". Guess what?! He didn’t have a leash. Did I mention that this owner was irresponsible? So, now we have our five girls with a strange dog trying to check them out. We kept walking as I informed this dog owner that he needed to get a leash and that there were leash laws in effect for the state. Okay, it was really more screaming and less informing but you get the picture.
I can’t tell you how many times we have been in situations where people allow their dogs to go off leash. It is unsafe for the dogs as well as the owners. As the owner you can be fined and/or injured when trying to get your dog away from another dog. As for the dog, it can be deadly.
Look folks, this isn’t difficult. If you love your dogs (and I believe that you do) get your poop bags or contraptions, get a gentle leader (we have an article about why we use this collar) and take care of your pet(s). Clean up after your dog(s) and in the process take care of the folks who will walk behind you. A few dollars for the leash and a minute to clean up the poop means that we can all leave a place better for those who travel behind, protect the animals that we love and spread a little bit of kindness along the way.
