I have lived in Summerland for almost two years and have some questions and concerns regarding the animal laws in town.
I have seen the signs in the parks and school yards that say “No Dogs”, yet day after day I see pet owners disobeying the posted regulations. And I am wondering if there is a leash law or not. I have two large dogs who are always leashed when out in public, but there have been many times when I have come across people walking their dog unleashed. There is a law for picking up your dog’s feces and people are always complaining about not picking up the mess. And yet not one person complains or makes a fuss for the unleashed dogs or dogs in school yards and parks.
The other thing that really irks me is when we do come across dogs with no leashes — when you see another dog and its owner walking towards you, and you can plainly see that we are trying to avoid a confrontation, why do you continue to walk towards us without a care in the world. A lot of these dogs are “ankle biters” or “squawk boxes” (smaller dogs) as I call them.
My dog is clearly larger than theirs, yet they let it come running and barking towards my dog, who takes it as a threat. And then they just stand there clueless as if they don’t see what is happening or is about to happen, and do not even bother to restrain their dog. What if the dog tries to engage my dog in a fight and my dog defends itself, then the owners would be crying and complaining that their dog was hurt and somehow it would turn out to be my dog’s fault. I never let my dogs wander freely outside of my fenced residence.
I always try to avoid other dogs, even to the point of having to yell at the person to grab their dog. Not all dogs know each other, not all dogs like each other, so to avoid a confrontation you should always have your dog on a leash or restrained in your yard so that it doesn’t wander into the street when others are walking their dogs who are leashed. Why invite a confrontation between two dogs by walking them unleashed? Even more so when the unleashed dog is the aggressor towards the person walking their leashed dog.
E. A. Worobetz
Summerland