RANT: Highpoint dog owners

[barmargia]

JT, thank you, I understand. I apologize for not noting the dates and jumping to conclusions.

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[Anonymous]

I read back and saw where JT DID say something to the dog owner. She yelled at them to get their dog on a leash. The owner didn’t care, so JT came to the forum and let it be known that this owner is breaking the law (there are dog leash laws here, right?).

That is what a “rant” is, I thought (can’t believe that Kayleigh and I actually agree on something).

Anyways, read back from the beginning of this thread if you need to.

Nothing JT has posted is out of line for a “rant” thread (or passive/aggressive, for that matter. She did more than I would have by yelling something!)

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[SA]

Approx ten days ago I was unlucky to encounter one of these leashless dog owners. He was walking south up Snake Hill towards High Point and had his three black dogs all unleashed. We were working in the front yard while our cat was chilling on our front porch. You can guess what happened next… one of the dogs spotted our cat and gave chase. It didn’t last too long but I was the one that had to break things up… eventually diving at the dog to keep him off our cat who was now on her back.

Our cat, of course, was quite frightened and had some blood on her hind paw from the altercation. I ended up with a skinned knee and a pulled hamstring. And I’m sure the owner ignored for the umpteenth his neighbor’s pleas to leash his dogs.

I never once considered calling animal control although I was tempted to call the police. The dogs seemed friendly enough (I think they were all labs or lab mixes) and I didn’t want them to suffer because of their owner’s neglect. In the end I did nothing since I figured the police would just turn the incident over to animal control.

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[Anonymous]

I realize that not EVERY one reads this forum, but I really thought more people did. I know that almost everyone knows about the blog and the forum.

However, I am always stunned to see unleashed dogs so frequently here. It seems that for about every leashed dog I see, there is an unleashed dog.

I just can’t believe, after all the threads we have had that relate to “unleashed dogs”, there are still so many negligent dog owners!

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[Trick]

NewResident,

I couldn’t agree more. I’m astonished that owners can’t put logic together when they have high strung or outright aggressive dogs off leash.

I can’t blame dogs for their genes, but to confront an owner with a pit bull and Rott while your dog (Jack Russell) is being mauled isn’t always as easy at it seems, even for a guy who’s 6’2″ and not shy about telling people what’s on his mind.

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[Anonymous]

Hey, Vincent, what’s your point with this?

“Man up a bit and figure it out. Or change your name to lattemom.”

So all we women are so lame and passive and mute, eh? I bet you good money I could take you in a fight, so you best back off the sexism.

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[vincent]

I missed that the wholly descriptive Handle “JT” was a woman. I am sure I could come up with an equally offensive woman focused remark if I thought about it.

what kind of good money? And could this get incorporated into the west seattle street fair somehow?

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[Ken]

Just so people can target their remarks , I am male, 53 and buy my clothes and shoes from a big and tall catalog. I used to favor “direct action” to resolve conflicts but now that I am older, I prefer political solutions.

Back to the subject at hand…

Dog owners throughout Highpoint neighborhoods vary in their observation of the law. Some are scrupulous, some are repeat offenders and some switch back and forth depending on the circumstances. And some actually look around to see if anyone is watching before deciding whether to pick up the poo.

The guy with 3 labs will get a confrontation next time I see him walking up from the snake hill area with them off leash.

The older guy who only takes his mutt off leash to play fetch in the pocket park will probably be ignored for now since the dog is on leash 95% of the time.

I will contact the director of the Highpoint community center and the after school care based at highpoint/westseattle elem school as well as animal control if I see the guy using the elementary school playground as his private dog park again. The after school program uses that playground and the dog poo is as annoying to me as it is to other parents/caregivers who have to pick up kids after stepping or falling in it.

I have better things to do but it seems nothing happens without somebody pushing the civic cart along a bit from time to time.

JT, if your shy about confronting the free range dog owners at West Seattle Elementary playground, drop me an email and I will give you my cell number. I am not shy. :)

Final note. This is a rant forum. While there are rules and I am sure WSB has posted them, replies and even strong disagreements should be expected in a rant thread.

If you want to see it done with style and imagination, visit the rude pundit.

http://rudepundit.blogspot.com/

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[changingtimes]

just for the record, it is not always big dogs that attack, my bff has one of those little dogs you can dress up and take in your purse, the cutest thing ever, as long as your 5 feet away from it, it attacks!!! it bit a hole through her mastiffs ear :( i know that a small dog can not do as much damage as a big dog but just wanted to not put all the blame on the big guys.

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[JanS]

changingtimes…those little suckers have some sharp pointed teeth, for sure…I can believe they could do damage…

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[jissy]

OK, I have to throw my 2 cents in here — I just this month moved near Lincoln Park — have been walking regularly (albiet VERY slowly b/c I’m 7 mos. pregnant with BAD sciatica) — I cannot believe the number of off-leash dogs. Seems every time I’m out there is 1-3 at Lowman Beach with those rocket ball throwers and then many down on the beach itself — like if they’re on the beach but not on the walking path it’s o.k.?

What makes me crazy is there are signs EVERYWHERE. Last night, having read this thread, I struggled with saying something to the offenders (but certainly didn’t want to get into a confrontration in full waddle-mode) or telling those that are actually following the law that I appreciate them having their dogs leashed but thought that too cheesy. We have people on a daily basis walking or jogging past our house on their way to the park with dogs off-lease while my cat has to dart in and out of the garage door.

Now granted, I’m not a dog lover (VERY traumatic attack as a small child with a Great Dane) but tolerator. I can imagine it’s difficult for dog owners wanting to give their dogs a great quality of life and I wouldn’t have the first clue where you’d take a dog legally to get in the water, but I have to agree with most of these comments and previous threads that there is an issue of public safety at hand here.

So what do I do? Carry a cattle prod? Does anyone know if mace is effective on animals? Taser?? Don’t get me wrong, I’m not a hater nor a violent person, but I’ll be damned if I’m going to let a canine get near me in my condition when I’m unable to defend myself or near my baby when I’m trying to take a nice neighborly stroll. If animal control gets enough complaints in an area do they do emphasis patrol (a la cops and radar/speed traps??)

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[Anonymous]

Vincent, this is why women can be apprehensive about approaching a stranger breaking the law.

Police: Man Stabbed Woman to Death for Calling Him Smelly

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,360621,00.html

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[vincent]

JT: So your comparing highpoint park to Pittsburgh? seriously?

I guess if you want to live in fear of everything your whole life.

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[Anonymous]

I’m comparing how strangers behavior can be unpredictable and most women don’t want to put themselves in a vulnerable position. Is that a foreign concept for you? Why aren’t you over on the abandoned vehicle thread yelling at house to man up for daring to rant in a rant forum. You are not a nice person.

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[vincent]

JT: hit refresh, I think you will find I did give House some flip over his post.

I think your strangers behavior arguement is reactionary and not based in reality. Your best example was from Pittsburgh, you might as well use Beirut a quote from the bible or the iliad. Your neighborhood much like society is the responsibility of its members to shape, if you think that’s someone else’s responsibility your not exactly part of the solution.

Oh and not being a nice person is part of my charm, how boring it would be if everyone agreed all the time.

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[JanS]

Vincent…I think before you get on JT’s case, you need to change genders and walk in our shoes for a while. I really don’t think a man can relate. If it was you getting in this guys face, it would be a different confrontation entirely. Because we’re talking about West SEattle, and we love it here, and for the most part people are not aggressive, as in the link, one can never be sure. I have a small car, I don’t mess with the big trucks, either…

just a thought…

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[gambaru]

jissy-

I am a passionate dog-owner AND carry mace on me at all times. You can get cheap mace that fits on your key chain that even has a “saftey” on it at Frys for under $5. I carry it not just to protect MYSELF but to protect my pooch from other dogs. Just in case. I’ve heard of it not working on aggressive dogs but it makes me feel better. It’s nice to have the piece of mind.

As a dog owner, I understand there is a time and place for on and off leash. There are 2 water front dog parks: Sand point and Mercer Island. Otherwise, Westcrest is near by. The fine alone for having my dog off leash on teh water front is enough to deter me (not to mention the saftey risks if my dog were to chase a squirrel…). I think the first offense is like $500!

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[littlebrowndog]

It has been a few months ago and it was at Alki, not Highpoint, but we did have an encounter with the owner of an off-leash dog that required calling the police. We were walking along with our 2 dogs (service dogs) and a man came walking towards us. His dog was off leash and a fair distance behind him. We didn’t say anything to him but just moved as far away as we could. He turned around and called his dog and instead of the dog coming to him he came charging at our dogs. My husband yelled out at him to control his dog and get his dog on a leash. The guy became very belligerent and threatened my husband that he would “kick his a**” as he was leaving. We called 9-1-1. The guy saw my husband do that and decided he would wait around for the police to arrive (he apparently thought he was being wronged!). The police did come, and they chastised the guy but that was it. They said they could not write him a ticket as they had not seen the dog off leash. They actually advised us not to confront people with off leash dogs as what happened was exactly the sort of conflict that could arise and it could even escalate to a fight or worse. There’s a $1000 penalty for injuring or killing a service dog, but a lot of consolation that would have been if his dog had actually attacked ours.

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[Anonymous]

LBD, I’m sorry that was your experience but I appreciate you sharing your story. It’s a difficult predicament to be in, and helpful to know that the police advised you not to confront people.

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[Ken]

You may want to print this out if you meet a cop who does not want to do the paperwork. They may not be required but you can ask that they forward the info/call to an animal control officer.

There are only 4 enforcement officers for the entire city.

http://www.cityofseattle.net/animalshelter/strategy.htm

The following are some general guidelines to be used by both the Neighborhood Team and the Park Patrol Team to ensure that enforcement activities are conducted in a manner that is fair and equitable to all citizens.

A Citation shall be issued for violations including leash law, scoop law and pet licensing. A citation shall also be issued for other related animal-related violations when a pet owner:

Has previously been issued a warning, citation or parks exclusion notice for an animal-related violation.

Gives false information to the officer.

Allows the animal to

Bite or behave dangerously, aggressively or in a menacing fashion.

Behave unruly; jump up on people.

Chase fish/wildlife; enter or destroy fish/wildlife habitat.

Destroy public and/or private property.

Be off-leash in or near a playground, wading pool, beach, athletic field or any park area where there is a concentration of children, or on or near a trail or any park area where people are walking, running, picnicking or engaging in other recreational activities where an off-leash dog would be considered by a reasonable person to be disruptive.

A Park Exclusion Notice shall be issued in addition to a citation when the violator:

Has received 3 or more animal-related citations in the parks within a twelve (12) month period.

Has previously received a citation for dangerous animal behavior surrounding an incident that occurred in a City park.

Is uncooperative or belligerent and the Seattle Police Department must be summoned to assist the officer.

Except for violations of leash law, scoop law, licensing laws or other circumstances outlined above, a Warning may be issued, at the discretion of the officer, if the following conditions are met and the violator:

Tried earnestly not to violate the law.

Has not previously received animal code violation warnings, citations or parks exclusion notices for animal-related violations.

Has not allowed the animal to bite or behave dangerously, aggressively or in a menacing fashion.

Is otherwise in compliance of the leash law, scoop law and pet licensing law.

Note: When the police advise you not to confront people, they may have your best interest at heart. But those of us who are not afraid of confrontation or it’s results, should continue to at in a civic minded fashion. Otherwise everyone gets run over since we cannot possible afford enough police to protect a compliant citizenry.

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