Stephanie Rapp shares why it’s important to keep dogs leashed.
At least five times a day, I see plaintive pleas from dog owners looking for missing pets. Occasionally, there are posts from neighbors who find a lost dog, often described as afraid, trembling, and anxious. Being lost in the city presents numerous dangers to pets, including cars, coyotes and kidnapping to be used in dog fights.
The other day, I was walking my two dogs and saw an unleashed corgi almost get struck by a car. The owner seemed nonplussed. “He never runs away,” he said, when I asked why the dog wasn’t leashed. Uh, except he just did? A lost pet database listed well over 700 missing pets in San Francisco on a recent day.
SF’s Civil Grand Jury found more than 2,000 cases of off leash dogs in one year. I know many dog owners train their dogs to walk without a leash and they believe they have control over their pet. But it is illegal to have an unleashed dog in San Francisco, except in dog parks and other places that are clearly marked as unleashed friendly. It makes owners with leashed dogs uncomfortable as we are not as confident in your skills as you are.
Animals are animals. Something you can’t predict – such as a coyote or unexpected fireworks – can freak them out and they can bolt. Dog owners – come on. Imagine for a moment that your family pet gets away from you and you don’t know where they are, who has them, if they are hurt, dead, abused? I’ve made sure to get a collar with a tag or embroidered contact information. A harness offers better control and is harder for dogs to slip out of. I always keep my dogs in my line of sight and have also gotten them chipped. Lastly, borrowing a phrase from Beyonce, “Cause if you like them, then you should put a leash on them.” With a Perspective, I’m Stephanie Rapp.