West Seattle Blog...

WSB Forum » West Seattle Rants & Raves

(57 posts)

RANT: Off leash ticketing

Started 2 years ago by lindsayp
Latest reply from lilith

12 Next »

lindsayp
Member Profile

(text deleted for rule violation)

Posted 2 years ago #
flowerpetal
Member Profile

Gee, you haven't been around the forums much have you? Whether there is harm or not, you broke the law; and therefor you got fined.
Even worse, you will be assailed by other posters on this fourm, I'm sure. The fine might end up being less painful.

Posted 2 years ago #
GoGo
Member Profile

Too bad someone can't make that area a real off leash dog park. If no one else is using it, why not let the dogs use it.

Posted 2 years ago #
westseattledood
Member Profile

lindsay p -

No special treatment when laws are broke. Simple, really.

Posted 2 years ago #
KBear
Member Profile

So you thought the "No Dogs Allowed" sign meant other people's dogs?

Posted 2 years ago #
JanS
Member Profile

kids play there...and maybe you clean up after your dog, but there are many people out there who will not, esp. when they're breaking the law in the first place. It is what it is..pay the fine.

Posted 2 years ago #
funkietoo
Member Profile

It's a public health issue/children play there. Even if a responsible dog guardian, such as yourself cleans up after your dog, there is always an element of dog poo goo left behind (such as bacteria, worm egss, etc), and of course, urine.

Seems like someone with a chunk of property could run a 'fee to play' dog park...just a thought.

Posted 2 years ago #
JimmyG
Member Profile

Glad to hear you and two other leash law violators got tickets.

Our three large dogs would love to go romp in the large fenced in schoolyard near our house.
But they don't get to because...oh that's right...it's against the law and I'm a responsible dog owner.

If my dogs need a romp off leash I take them to where it's legal to do so. I realize that takes some effort on the owners part, but "them's the breaks".

Posted 2 years ago #
Genesee Hill
Member Profile

How do you know no one else is using the CHILDREN'S playfield? And, if people are not using it, perhaps it is because there are dogs running around OFF-LEASH.

Posted 2 years ago #
Carson
Member Profile

Leash your dog, duh...

Posted 2 years ago #
sandybeach
Member Profile

I stopped taking my kids there just because of this. I know the dogs can't read so who does that leave? LindsayP you should be careful about trying to point out who you think is responsible. You have just earned an additional person to start reporting on this activity. Who cares if you think you know who is reporting this. You are in the wrong on multiple accounts.

Posted 2 years ago #
service dog academy
Member Profile

i second the idea for a paid off leash area. i would pay to reserve a time to have just me and my clients screened dogs come and play.

Posted 2 years ago #
jwws
Member Profile

JimmyG
Couldn't phrase it better. We take our 2 dogs to off leash parks when we can and when we can't , gee, we walk them on leashes, because it's the law! I can't count the number of times I've run into ignorant/arrogant (the law doesn't apply to me and my dog(s)) people on walks in the Genesee area with dogs off leash - even have tendon damage in my hand due to an off leash dog charging my on leash dogs and pulling me over. Lindsayp you're not going to get much support here! Be a responsible owner and leash up in city limits, don't take your dogs in areas posted with NO DOGS and do go to off leash parks. A lot of us do it.

Posted 2 years ago #
rdm
Member Profile

GoGO,

Looks like you found yourself a project.

Posted 2 years ago #
guidosmom
Member Profile

I am considering this post more of a "rave". I am glad people are finally getting ticketed for having dogs off leash in areas like schools that have no dog signs everywhere...

To those of you who want a "pay" off leash dog park. I've wanted one for a while too, and actually heard a show on NPR that talked about several, including this one:

http://www.unleasheddogparks.com/

I really wish someone could open one.

Posted 2 years ago #
hammy
Member Profile

BTW, yesterday saw an off leash dog poop in the woodchipped play area at Gatewood Elementary. Owner didn't get it all because it was runny. Gross.

Posted 2 years ago #
melissa
Member Profile

Lindsayp, I'm sorry you were ticketed. There. Now I'm going to be pilloried as well. People get worked up as hell about this issue. You'd think that everyone had health insurance and a roof over their head and enough food if you took the amount of bile that goes into this issue as a indicator of its importance.

Oh, and I walk my dog on a leash. But I don't get all-fired freaked out by people whose dogs are off leash if they have them under good voice command, which despite what some people think, some people can do.

Posted 2 years ago #
sandybeach
Member Profile

To be clear to LindsayP -Genessee is a "NO DOGS ALLOWED" area, not a No Dogs off-leash area. This is clearly marked just like every park in the city/county with what is and isn't permitted. I don't think they put the words together in a confusing way. They are pretty clear - "No Dogs Allowed".

Posted 2 years ago #
Kevin
Member Profile

Hey Lindsay,
.
Just be thankful that you did not end up on the dog walkers hall of shame. Someone actually started a web site right here in West Seattle where pictures get posted of leash law violators.
.
Matter of fact - I think you can find the link right here in the forums. Do a little searching and you can probably find the link and see for yourself.
.
Of course this is probably not your first offense so perhaps your picture is already on that site and you just don't know it :)
.
How much was the fine anyway? Hopefully enough to make you think twice before letting your dog play off leash in the future.
.

Posted 2 years ago #
JanS
Member Profile

melissa, therein lies the problem...some people...many people, actually.... believe that they have good voice command of their dogs, but in fact don't...and leash is law...so until that changes, they should leash up :)

Posted 2 years ago #
sandybeach
Member Profile

LindsayP -What is your reason for trying to point out what house you think is reporting these violations? Do you consider them snitches? Are you hoping someone will retaliate against them? You have come here to cry because you got caught and now you fail to even try to defend yourself. What was your point in starting this thread? You are the bad apple.

Posted 2 years ago #
miws
Member Profile

The Bother that some unleashed dogs, where they are not permitted, can be.

Mike

Posted 2 years ago #
WSB
Member Profile

Second time today, rule violation for including identifying information of a third party. Thanks to those who flagged the post. Leaving the rest of the discussion up, at least for now, since even without the o/p it seems obvious what it was about, from everyone's reaction. PS I doubt many read this far into our story about last night's Alki Community Council meeting, but the ACC is planning to step up its advocacy against leash violations at the beach - they voted to send the city a letter, for starters.

Posted 2 years ago #
melissa
Member Profile

Get over yourself, sandybeach. There was no crying. And don't ask what the point of the thread was when it's obvious. Re-read the first post if you didn't understand it. It's clear.

WSB doesn't specify that people can't rant or rave because others might disagree. The op has as much right as anyone to express his/her objections. You don't have to agree, and you also don't have to play dumb or say incendiary things.

When it comes to certain topics, the bullies come out.

Posted 2 years ago #
westseattledood
Member Profile

Uhm, melissa, you might want to look at the first post again. I think you might not be clear on what the violation was. TR would probably be happy to explain it to you if you write her a note.

Edit: Well, never mind. TR took care of the explanation. Of course. :)

Posted 2 years ago #
JoB
Member Profile

melissa...

from my perspective.. the bullies are people who break the law by violating leash laws.

their choice to break the law makes is nearly impossible for those of us with reactive dogs to take our dogs with us in public.

I leash my dogs and i can keep them from approaching other dogs.. but i can't keep other dogs from approaching them...

my experience would lead me to believe the owners of those dogs on voice control can't either.

The problem is that those owners would sue me in a heartbeat if their unleashed dog came up to mine and got hurt in the process...

so i end up putting myself between my dogs and the unleashed dog who isn't listening to it's owner.

that's a good way to get bitten...

little wonder i think they are the bullies...

Posted 2 years ago #
sandybeach
Member Profile

melissa- besides crying about her ticket, LindsayP was trying was trying to incite the rath of other lawbreakers by very specifically identifying which house she thinks is "snitching" on them. This was very wrong. What was her point in identifying this house? Get over yourself.

Posted 2 years ago #
MousePotato
Member Profile

lindsayp,

You have 2 options; get a nice fenced yard and love your pet there or go to an off-leash park for your love sessions. Nobody else loves your pet and they never will. Unless you send your dogs to vacation at a strange little farm in Whatcom County....

Posted 2 years ago #
ws4ever
Member Profile

And if you take your dog to an off-leash park without its collar/license, hoooh boy, huge ticket. Enforcement shows up at dog parks at random times.

Posted 2 years ago #
GenHillOne
Member Profile

I regularly watch small kids rolling down a grassy hill in a "no dogs" area where I have often seen dogs peeing and pooping. Gross. Love dogs, but if you're not washing that grass with soapy water after picking up poop (yeah right), you're leaving a little behind for others to enjoy. There are reasons why some places don't allow dogs, on leash or off. Same reason I'd never walk barefoot across a parking strip!

Posted 2 years ago #
JoB
Member Profile

WSever

dogs without collars and licenses are difficult to return to their owners if they run off... or are lured off.

wearing a collar and tags is a safety measure for your pups. Mine wear theirs 24/7.

Posted 2 years ago #
Duckitude
Member Profile

I note that the WSB has deleted the creator of this thread's first post. In case people are wondering, the post basically identified a residence "allegedly" responsible for calling Animal Control on lawbreakers. Thank you WSB!

But, more importantly, why do lawbreakers find it so easy to try to set up retaliation, or to actually retaliate themselves, when they are given feedback about their carelessness, either in person or by Animal Control? What is that attitude? I can tell you, it ain't duckitude.

I experience retaliatory crap almost once a week from people who have their dogs off leash at Lowman Beach Park. I don't talk to those lawbreakers anymore unless their dog ends up chasing a couple of this neighborhood's adored semi-feral cats in the backyard (IN THE BACKYARD) of my next door neighbor, OR, if I see a dog so out of control it is a safety hazard (LIKE ATTACKING A LEASHED DOG ON THE SIDEWALK).

To do otherwise, would be to spend my entire day talking to snobby, entitled, unaware idiots all day long (that's how many there are). So, I gave up except for "special" cases.

However, in the special case category here's a couple. 1: Woman has dog off leash, it chases my neighbors cat up ON (that's right ON) my neighbor's porch as I am visiting with some other people just 10 feet away. The cat jumps off the banister of the porch where it was sunning itself, and the dog knocks a very nice pot with flowers in it over and breaks it into a thousand pieces.

At that point, I walk over to the woman who is basically doing nothing to recapture her dog and ask if she thinks she shouldn't knock on the door since she owes the owner of the house money for her dog breaking the flower pot and creating a mess, etc. She gives me attitude, like, "oh, I see, cause and effect..." What? She should have initiated such an effort herself, but, no, it's just a dog having fun... uh... unbelievable!

The next sour sample is a guy who is clear down on the beach and has let his dog just roam willy-nilly through the park. The dog aggressively approaches a leashed dog and causes a mess of entanglement for the owner of the leashed dog, who cannot control her dog AND get the other dog away at the same time. She trips and falls off the curb (she was on the sidwalk, walking her dog legally and mannerly).

I was outside in working on my garden. I chase the loose dog down as the owner of the loose dog approaches. This guy is a total idiot. When advised about what his dog has just done, he says "*uck you!" We have a little heated conversation and he wanders off, but looks back often to see where I am returning to (a car, a house?)

These two brats... just typical for this area at Lowman Beach Park. Both incidents in the last week.

It's amazing what an unfortunate number of dog owners think are dog's rights and privileges and who are really quite out of control. Welcome to America, where we all seem to want to grow up to be brats.... ugh.

Posted 2 years ago #
miws
Member Profile

Duckitude, the responses you get are precisely why I don't bother confronting people with off leash dogs.

Admittedly, I don't like confrontation, but realistically, I figure 99.87695284% of the time, my informing the irresponsible party would be met with being totally ignored, laughed at or commented to in a way that suggests it's no big deal, an (as in the one case you cite) *uck (not duck) you, or to a much lesser extent, a punch in the nose or wherever.

So, I just try to keep an eye on the dog, and only should I see a situation about to occur between the off leash dog and another dog, person, or wildlife, I will then confront them, and probably much stronger than I would merely seeing the dog off leash without any immediate conflict.

And I would damn well be a witness against an off leasher, if an incident did occur.

Not too far off topic, I recently saw on local TV, a story on "dog scootering" where people have their leashed (to the scooter) dogs pull them around on scooters, similar to Alaskan sled dogs.

Great way to give your dog a good run in parks while obeying leash laws, right? Sure it is!

However, they showed the guy they profiled in the story doing such, and I'm thinking; "What happens if the guy falls of his scooter?"

Guess what happens next? Yup. The scooter gets away from the guy, and the dog(s) (IIRC he had two) going running off, dragging the scooter, towards this poor woman that is actually holding onto her leashed dog(s) leash(es) and pulls back on them a bit startled, and looking like she's afraid a dog attack is about to happen.

Scooter guy, while trying to get up and go after his dog(s) has the gall to bark (so to speak) out alomost as a command "Grab them! Grab them!", as if it were the woman's responsibility to mind his dogs, and of course, he laughs the whole thing off.

Mike

Posted 2 years ago #
GenHillOne
Member Profile

haha, Mike, seems to me that attaching the dogs to the human rather than the scooter would help with that - nothing like the threat of a little road rash to aid your balance!

Posted 2 years ago #
miws
Member Profile

Exactly, GHO!

Mike

Posted 2 years ago #
sandybeach
Member Profile

Drove by the field this morning and someone has stolen the "NO DOGS ALLOWED" sign. I guess someone is after the "ignorance" defense. Anyone know which city department handles signage?

Posted 2 years ago #
JanS
Member Profile

sandybeach...you could probably find that out at the City Clerk's office, but they are only open Mon-Fri, from 8am to 5pm

Phone: 206-684-8344
Email: clerk@seattle.gov

or one could try this:

http://www.seattle.gov/parks/playarea.asp

Posted 2 years ago #
sandybeach
Member Profile

Thank you JanS

Posted 2 years ago #
ws4ever
Member Profile

Hi JoB (#31): No worries. At park,started to put leash on sheltie, saw no collar after bathe/groom at home. Got back in car to go home. Had talked to someone earlier re their getting a ticket, didn't want to chance doing the same. Informing people about consequences/penalties offer an additional incentive to do the right thing. Informed = Priceless!

Posted 2 years ago #
Ken
Member Profile

Every two or three years my dogs might get loose.
(Who knew a lab could figure out how to open a chain link gate? I use locks and bungee cords now)

They are gentle so neighbors and strangers have caught them and called the phone number on the collar and I have retrieved them.

Recently a neighbors 2 large dogs got loose and were running down the ally and trying to attack mine and other neighbors dogs through the fence. I called mine in and went out with a couple of leashes to try and detain them until the owner noticed them gone.

They had no collars. No tags.

Not much I could do but watch him chase them around the neighborhood after that.

Posted 2 years ago #
hopey
Member Profile

Ken, if the loose dogs were docile enough to get in your car, you could have taken them to a vet & had them scanned for microchip identification.

Posted 2 years ago #
jwws
Member Profile

sandybeach,

Noticed the signs missing as well, how interesting this happened right after 2-3 people (who feel they are above the law) were ticketed for having dogs in the school yard. If I were with the City I'd look to the ticketed folks as the culprits!

Posted 2 years ago #
cy10
Member Profile

Off leash idiots don't seem to realize they live in a *city* where you have to share parks and public places with other people. This is not your grandma's farm in Spokane where your dogs could roam around free all day! Living in a city means you have to make concessions and limit some behaviors because you share living space with lots of people. Dummies that don't leash their dogs should be ticketed.

Posted 2 years ago #
sandybeach
Member Profile

Fair warning - I have recently observed two additional local parks that are having the "No Dogs Allowed" signs being ignored. I have initiated requests for enforcement. I confronted one person as her unleashed dog was about to crap where the kids play. She played dumb (tried the ignorance defense)about the whole thing.

Posted 2 years ago #
HMC Rich
Member Profile

This makes cat only owners chuckle. Westcrest is great but I do wish a fenced area near Alki or the Junction was available for our canine. Can we fill in the Hole Foods pit and make a doggy park? Follow the Law. Leash your dog.

Posted 2 years ago #
sam-c
Member Profile

@sandybeach- is one of those local parks Schmitz ? they could make a lot of money ticketing people for off leash dogs there. on a recent Sunday, saw about a dozen or more dogs there, unleashed. only 2 or thereabouts were leashed.

Posted 2 years ago #
JimmyG
Member Profile

Seattle Animal Control has been receptive to my calls about off-leash dogs using the ball fields at Fairmount Park Elementary on Fauntleroy.

There are several off-leash violators that use it on a regular basis to "exercise" their pups. I call every time I see it.

Posted 2 years ago #
BBGuest
Member Profile

Here is the link to report leash law violations.

http://www.seattle.gov/animalshelter/ServiceRequest/ServiceRequest.asp

I had an incident this week, separate topic, so I had the address of the offending party. Animal Control is set to contact.

How does it work when you report an incident taking place at a park? Do you have to get the owner's name or dog's license number... or car plate number? Just wondering if anyone could let me know.

Thanks.

Posted 2 years ago #
sandybeach
Member Profile

A few months ago I watched a woman watching her dog do its' business in the kids playset woodchips at Schmitz. She was oblivious even though she was watching her dog doo this. Her response when confronted was "sorry" as she walked away leaving the mess. When I say confronted, I was across the playground, so maybe she didn't know anyone else was around to see her. Schmitz isn't on my list but it should be on someones.

Posted 2 years ago #
anonyme
Member Profile

BB Guest: A car license number is all you need. Most of the time you won't be able to get info such as owner's name, address, or pet license #. I had problems with a frequent offender at my workplace. After repeated warnings, they actually pointed out houses and lied about living there, lied about the dog's name, etc. I reported them by car license # and Animal Control showed up at the correct address and issued a $150+ fine. Turns out the dog wasn't licensed, either. No problems since, and these people moved a month later.

Posted 2 years ago #