Letter: 'Leash Your Dogs, It's The Law'

Well folks, I’m battin' 1000 at Creese Memorial Park for annoying dog encounters.  

In an all too familiar sequence of events, as I made my left into the park today on my morning run, there it was… an unleashed dog about 200 yards away.  

When we locked eyes – he went from 0 to 60 and it was “on.”

As I reluctantly advanced (due to prior experience) the peanut-butter colored rascal continued his B-line for me as if he was runnin' from the ‘fuzz.’  In a fruitless bid to tone the dog down, the owner spewed the ‘older-than-dirt’ cliché, “He’s OK!!! He won’t hurt you!!!”  

Needless to say, the dog jumped all over me, then circled me like a wolf protecting a bison kill.  

Frustrated, I asked the owner, “what do you want me to do…should I stop running?”  

“He just wants to play,” she offered as she flailed around in an effort to snag the dog’s shiny collar.  

When I was finally able to exit the park, I glared at the large sign near the bridge that says “LEASH YOUR DOGS – ITS THE LAW.”  

It’s interesting to me that many people walk with a dog for protection (especially on hiking trails), but as a runner and hiker, I feel that I am the one who now needs the protection.  

Believe me, I’ve encountered some nasty dogs on the trail.  That said, maybe I need to carry mace.  I say that not in a mean-spirited way, but rather, as the next logical step for my quest against canines.  

Let’s face it though, the bottom line here is that people simply do not think the rules apply to them, and they are going to do what they want to do.  It’s no different than the person who parks in the ‘NO PARKING FIRE ZONE’ at my apartment complex every night or the guy who dumps 26 items on the express lane belt and then pays for his goods with a check.  

People are going to do what they want to do – and no editorial is gonna change that.  As for the dogs, I’ve nixed Sewickley Heights Park from my list (eons ago) and now Creese Memorial Park.  Maybe I’ll get a membership to the Verizon Wireless gym after all…


Christopher Sproul
Sewickley



Have you encountered a similar experience? Not so much? Tell us in the comments.