And you think it's OK to have your dog off leash?

To the Editor:

I was thrilled to see the animal control officer parked at the beginning of the paths at Rocky Point on a recent Sunday. I read that they were going to start doing that because of people like you, who believe they do not have to obey the law.

It's exhausting, having to be on high alert at places like Warwick City Park and Rocky Point where the rules are clearly stated: Dogs must be leashed. I come across people like you everywhere, even on the bike path in Warwick, West Warwick, Cranston and Coventry. Granted, I am sensitive to this. My first dog was attacked on two separate occasions by two sets of two (different) dogs. Once on the bike path behind my yard, once on a busy main street. Both times the owners just kept on going, both times equaled trauma for me and my dog, as well as vet bills. So maybe you're not that owner....your dog is friendly. I don't care. My current dog is not. He has his doggy friends, but, not unlike his owner, has a problem with strangers charging up to him. Yes, that is an issue for me, and he also reacts to leashed dogs. We are working on this. You are making this problem worse. And hey, if your dog does get close enough to mine, I can almost guarantee it will not go well, and your dog may start having the same issues that mine does. Imagine that!

I also don't care because I have a friend who was attacked by an off leash dog when she was a child. She is a taxpayer in Warwick and I don't think that it's unreasonable for her to have the expectation of not being frightened by your dog charging up to her when she goes to parks in Warwick where dogs are supposed to be leashed. Fine, you don't care about any of this. While your dog is yards away from you, pooping (I'm sure he or she is fitted with a camera, so you can go back to find it and pick it up, right?), while you scream at your dog to "come" and he ignores you, after I tell you that mine is not friendly (Tip from dog ownership 101, to get your dog to come back to you you're suppose to make coming back to you a positive. So screaming at him at this point is counterproductive. In 15 years of owning a dog and too many occasions to count of coming across loose dogs, I have yet to see a single owner who was able to get their dog back to them on the first shot...or second.). I get the allure of having an off leash dog. There are plenty of places in the state where that is legal, and we don't go to those places.

So, apparently you don't care if your "friendly" dog charges up to anyone who is petrified (or maybe just doesn't like) dogs or care to obey the leash laws. Whatever. What I can't grasp, as someone who loves her dog, is why you have such disregard for the safety of your own. Forget possibly getting hit by a car (there are sections of the bike path that run parallel to busy roads). Forget coming across wild, possibly rabid animals (yes I have heard about rabid coyotes, foxes, raccoons in the places I have mentioned); why don't you care if my dog (or a random stray) hurts yours?

Heather Hartley

West Warwick