Rebel dog owners cross law, anger other people

It happened years ago. But even now, she says, “It just breaks my heart.” Val Schoenherr was driving to work near Memorial Park, going about 20 mph, when suddenly she saw a blur of fur. Before she could stop there was a sickening bump under her wheel.

Two Labrador retrievers lay dying in the road.

Neither had been on a leash when their owner was taking them from the car to the house. They dashed around the end of the car into the road.

The husband told Schoenherr that his wife was always leaving them off leash.

“I went to work and cried all afternoon. I was upset for weeks. They died right there in the street because some people are incredibly stupid.”

Now when she sees a dog off leash, she wants to ask the owner, “Do you know what you are doing?”

A lot of others are asking that same question. In fact, the topic of unleashed dogs brings out ferocious emotions like few other pet issues, as we found out when we asked people to share their experiences.

On one side of the debate is the “born free” contingent — those owners who say their dogs deserve a chance to enjoy the great outdoors unfettered. Many will insist their dogs are under voice control.

On the other side are people who have been bitten, jumped on, knocked over and even had arms broken in terrifying encounters with dogs that their owners swear are sweet, docile and well-trained.

Betty Reed, 83, was out on a walk in her central Colorado Springs neighborhood when she heard the owner of two German shepherds call out, “Oh, they’re OK” — just before the dogs came after her 11-year-old toy poodle, Doozie. Reed tried to pick up her tiny pet and was knocked down. Doozie high-tailed it, drag

ging his leash. Neighbors grabbed the German shepherds. Her dog later showed up at home, and she and Doozie received medical treatment for bruises.

“It was terrible,” Reed says. “He couldn’t sleep and whined for three weeks. I thought I was going to lose him to stress.”

People who have encountered off-leash dogs say they’ve heard all the excuses when they ask the other party to leash their dog:

“He’s friendly.”

“He just wants to say, ‘Hi.’”

“He doesn’t like the leash.”

Some will yell, “Mind your own business!” And worse.

They’re not doing their dogs any favors, says Joni Freshman, a local veterinarian and owner of AcuPets Mobile Veterinary Acupuncture.

“It drives me crazy. Irresponsible pet owners are risking everything for the rest of us and putting dogs in dangers that they don’t deserve,” Freshman says.

“People think their dogs must run free. It’s a great idea if nothing bad would happen. But that is not reality.”

As a veterinarian, she has seen it all: off-leash dogs who run away and are found dead weeks later, dogs found starving with faces full of porcupine needles, dogs killed or severely injured by mountain lions, dogs caught in illegal leg-hold traps, dogs shot by owners of livestock, dogs injured by other off-leash dogs.

One tragic case occurred when she was working emergency duty at Colorado State University Veterinary Teaching Hospital in Fort Collins.

A beautiful golden retriever was brought in.

For years he had jogged faithfully every day off-leash beside his owner but had broken out of his routine.

“For some doggie reason that particular day, he dashed into the road,” Freshman recalls. “A semi-truck crushed his chest with its tires.” The dog died en route to the hospital.

Dog owners who seem to ignore the risk to their pets by allowing them to run off leash are also ignoring something else: the law.

Dogs must be leashed in Colorado Springs, except for areas designated as “off leash.”

The law doesn’t apply in some parts of El Paso County, although certain suburbanized areas closer to the city are included in the leash law.

Owners can be fined $50 for a first offense in the city and $45 in the county. If there is a third offense, the fine can be up to $500 in the city and $100 in the county. There is also a mandatory municipal court appearance.

Owners can receive 90 days in jail, although Ann Davenport of the Humane Society of the Pikes Peak Region knows of no cases that have gone that far.

But scofflaws are getting tickets. Animal Control has received nearly 3,000 complaints so far this year about unleashed dogs, and 448 tickets were served in that time period, Davenport says.

“It’s not usual for an owner to get a ticket for a first offense,” she says.

“Nine times out of 10, the person is unaware of the leash law. They are under the impression that voice control is an acceptable substitute.

So we try to educate them.”

A leash-law sign isn’t enough, apparently.

Marty Townsend was riding his bike on the Santa Fe Trail last fall when he encountered a woman and her leashless Labrador retriever.

“I was barely going walking speed to pass and at the last second her pup darted in front of me.

“I put on my brake and went over the handle bars.”

He broke his left arm and had to ride his bike five miles back to the parking lot — a fate that could have been avoided had the dog owner heeded the sign.

“It’s clearly marked on the trail that dogs have to be on a leash,” he says.

Dog owners who ignore leash laws for whatever reason might be in for an unpleasant surprise.

Some people, fed up with their encounters with unleashed dogs, are arming themselves with everything from umbrellas to pepper spray and even guns.

Irene Lobaido of Peyton starting carrying a gun by permit to protect her horse when she rides, although she says she’d never use it unless they were viciously attacked.

“It’s miles to the next house. I’m on my own.”

Freshman, the veterinarian, started carrying pepper spray with her after one scary encounter.

She had it with her during a more recent incident.

Two mountain bikers with an off-leash dog came roaring over the hill with an unleashed weimaraner that attacked her dog. Her dog fell on his back and she had to pepper spray the other dog to get him off. Then the bikers threatened her.

“I had to say, ‘I’ve got more spray here.’”

CONTACT THE WRITER: 636-0371 or carol.mcgraw@gazette.com

WHY THEY DO IT

We asked about a half-dozen people why they let their dogs run off-leash. Most said their dogs ...

- need the exercise/need to run free

- are under voice control

- are friendly

- can be leashed quickly if they see someone coming

WHAT YOU CAN DO

How do you protect yourself and your pet from a dog on the loose?

Carry an umbrella, says Angie Neal, an animal-behavior consultant with Lucky Dog Resort and Training School.

If you see a dog running toward you, pop the umbrella open. It startles the oncoming dog and also can act as a barrier. But get your dog accustomed to the umbrella first, or he might freak out.

The umbrella, a cane or walking stick also can be used to prod dogs apart.

- Call out to the owner when you’re still far away: “My dog is not friendly,” or “My dog is shy. Please leash your dog.”

- Pretend like you are going to pick up a rock, or yell at the oncoming dog: “No! Go home!”

- If a fight ensues, it is sometimes best to drop the leash so your dog can defend himself.

- Carry pepper spray for really bad situations.

TRAINING ESSENTIALS

Most people don’t have as much control over their pet as they think they do, says Bob Warren, owner of the local MuttMasters School for Dogs.

No one should take a dog off leash that hasn’t been trained and then “proofed” — that is, tested to not respond negatively to situations out of norm.

There are three lifesaving commands that must be taught, Warren says:

- “Come,” no matter what the distraction is; not when the dog gets around to it.

- “Stay,” no matter what. A dog shouldn’t have to be told twice or three times. The owner should be able to say “stay,” and keep on jogging and the dog will stay exactly where it was told to stay.

- “Leave it.” When a dog goes for something it shouldn’t have, it should respond immediately to the command.