Dog Owners Need to Keep Their Dogs on Leash To Avoid Dangerous, Traumatic Situations
To the Editor:
A third dog off leash in two weeks has prompted me to write a letter to Town Topics.
Early on in our relationship, my guide dog was attacked by two dogs who were off leash. It has taken a lot of hard work, and several visits from Seeing Eye instructors, to rebuild her confidence. I especially want to thank my many neighbors, who wanted to see us succeed. They have gone out of their way and are extremely careful not to let their pets interfere with my guide dog, who is essential for my mobility and safety.
Walking with my dog and a friend, we recently witnessed a really scary incident on Jefferson Road. A dog raced out of a driveway to attack another dog who was on a leash and doing nothing offensive. The barks and yelps were terrifying. Only by luck were we not directly involved. I don’t know if that dog was injured, but very likely traumatized.
The second incident, also on Jefferson, involved a loose dog who menacingly barked at my dog and charged out toward us, but was grabbed by his owner before he reached the sidewalk.
In the third, an unleashed dog bounded across Harris Road to get to my dog. It then raced back and forth between us and his owners, totally unresponsive to verbal commands. I popped the Gentle Leader over my dog’s nose to make sure she was under good control, and eventually concluded that this dog was not aggressive. It was having a gay old time playing a game of “you can’t catch me.” A group of people took several minutes to corral him before we could go on our way.
While my dog was not physically injured in any of these situations, some guide dogs are unable to work after aggressive encounters and have to retire. If my dog becomes unable to work after too many aggressive encounters and retires, my independence and mobility will be significantly decreased while I wait for another guide dog. The wait could be lengthy because it takes some time until the right match becomes available.
Besides Princeton’s leash law, New Jersey’s “Dusty’s Law” provides special protection for guide dogs and other service animals.
For the safety of my dog, and everyone’s dogs, please familiarize yourself with this legislation and don’t let your dog be off leash!
I really don’t enjoy being the neighborhood shrew, yelling at people to put a leash on their dog and get it under control.
If my dog gets jumped again, I’m concerned that she may decide to hang up the harness.