Right then, I would've pulled out my cell phone and called Animal Control. The fine here for an unleashed dog on a public thoroughfare is $100.00 per dog. No exceptions. And if the dogs do not have current shot records, they will be taken to the animal shelter. He wouldn't get them back until he paid the fines, plus the cost of the shots, which they would give them. Otherwise, after 7 days the dogs would be put to sleep, and he would still have to pay the fines, + the cost of the euthanasia (usually $75.00 per dog). And, if he didn't he would be arrested and pay it off in jail time. Our Animal Control is run by the Sheriffs Department, and they don't fool around with this. Rabies is a major problem here in the mountains.
Originally Posted by
Bahnzo
I come across this a lot. Dog(s) being walked without a leash on a MUP. It's marked (and signed) as a bike path, but it's a popular path in my city for all (and I don't mind that, we all deserve a nice path to walk/bike/run) away from cars and in a natural environment. It's also a law that all pets are on a controlled leash (it's on the signs as well).
But I've come across more and more people who insist on walking dogs w/o leashes on this path. And even with a call (ON YOUR LEFT) they do nothing to control their pets which frequently block the path. I always slow down on certain areas I know are crowded with peds, but this kinda thing is really pissing me off.
Today, a guy I see all the time, who never has his large dogs on a leash, who is always on his phone paying no attention to anything. I stopped and told him that law requires leashes, that this is a bike path and his dogs are a danger to cyclists...told me to go "F" myself and next time he'll make sure his dog's attack me (seriously...not that I really think that).
WTF can be done in this situation? I mean I want to tell him about the time I've been bitten (and the cost that comes with that, for him) and the safety issues as well. But it really seems hard to make many of these people understand.
Spring...that time of the year when the morons come out and we're forced to deal with them? Until they are too fat and drunk to continue their New Year's resolution and just let their neglected pets out to sheet in the backyard?