To Hershey's Dog-Mom

[enochs-fable.livejournal.com]

If you're taking your adorable chocolate lab out for a stroll on the bike-path on a lovely Sunday afternoon, please protect your dog and other people using the path and keep him on a leash.

I witnessed an almost-accident at close range as the dog ambled from one side of the path to another, forcing a bicyclist to slam on his brakes and stop hard to avoid hitting him.

He doesn't know any better, he's just a dog, doing what dogs do. You, on the other hand, should.

Comments

[buckturgidsen.livejournal.com]

Forget the insurance company. Do YOU personally consider me to be an irresponsible driver simply because I tell you that I sometimes intentionally drive over the posted speed limit? (Even by 1 mph?)

I think most people in our society would not only say no, but would consider the question ridiculous. And yet everyone in this thread seems to believe that keeping your dog on a leash in public places (even if nobody else is there) is one of the pillars of responsible dog ownership. And that allowing your dog off-leash on the bike path is automatically and unconditionally an irresponsible act.

[pierceheart.livejournal.com]

Yes, I do think you are irresponsible for it.

[buckturgidsen.livejournal.com]

Okay, point noted. You're obviously entitled to think that.

Out of curiosity, do you think I'm irresponsible for selectively driving over the speed limit, or for selectively walking the dog off-leash, or both? And if your answer is only for off-leash walking, then what makes walking a dog off-leash different from driving over the speed limit? For example, walking a well-behaved dog off-leash on a quiet, early morning where the bike path is totally deserted ... vs driving 2 miles over the speed limit on an open stretch of highway. Personally, I view these situations as being pretty equivalent.

[pierceheart.livejournal.com]

You are irresponsible for both.