Dear Dog Owners,
Please, please,
please keep your dogs leashed, fenced in, and otherwise appropriately
restrained at all times, for the sake of your dog and other people. Don't let
your dog go loose outside, and when you visit someone keep your dog restrained.
A pet cat walking up to you is not the same as a pet dog walking up to you.
Don't tell me that your dog doesn't bite; dogs are animals too. Cats are much
less of a problem, but even I won't say that they don't bite. So many of you
around here have unrestrained and rowdy dogs that I am considering always
carrying pepper spray or a large branch with me when I go out for a walk. I am
not afraid to use them on your dogs when they come running, barking, and
growling at me. I already put up with their barking, following me, staking out my yard, and leaving their excrement
all over - I will not put up with my safety being threatened. You may have a
legal right to owning a dog depending on where you live, but you do not have
the right to infringe on my peace and safety. You own your dog and your dog does not own the neighborhood.
Please read your area's dog
laws. Some of you may be inadvertently violating them, and these offenses can
lead to the loss of your dog. Here is a section from local dog control laws found at http://ecode360.com/6182731.
Chapter
103. DOGS Article I. Licensing, Identification and Control
§ 103-5.
Dog control.
A. Prohibited
conduct. It shall be a violation of this article for the owner of any dog to
permit or allow such dog to:
(1) Be
at large; or
(2) Engage
in habitual loud howling, barking, crying or whining, or any other behavior
which unreasonably disturbs the comfort or repose, or causes damage or
destruction to real or personal property, of any person other than the owner of
such dog or a member of the owner's household residing with the owner or a
guest of such owner; or
(3) Commit
a nuisance by defecating or urinating upon public property or upon the premises
of any person other than the owner of such dog; or
(4) Chase,
threaten, harass, annoy, intimidate or alarm any person or to place any person
in reasonable apprehension of bodily harm or injury, unless such person is
unlawfully on the owner's premises or in the owner's residence or such person
is threatening the safety of the owner's person, family, guests or property,
and such dog is protecting or guarding the owner, the owner's real or personal
property, or any person lawfully on the owner's property or in the owner's
residence; or
(5) Habitually
chase or run alongside of moving vehicles, horses or pedestrians lawfully using
the public highways.
