Dear sir,
This letter has been written so many times and I’m hoping someday you’ll hear the plea of those of us who have to write these letters.
Today, you decided to play fetch with your dog off leash after seeing me and my dog were in the vicinity and my dog was on a leash.
Let me preface this next part by saying, I’m not inherently against off leash dogs. I actually believe leashes are one of the most unnatural things we have done to dogs.
I also believe that in this chaotic world where dogs are no longer welcome everywhere and people have less time to train, leashes are necessary.
Back to my issue with you, specifically. As soon as your dog got close to mine, I asked you to recall him. You see, my dog is slightly dog reactive due to an off leash dog charging him as a puppy. We’ve made huge amounts of progress and he can now be around other dogs without having a complete meltdown but that took about a year.
If your dog had gotten into his space without him being ok with it, it could have ruined that whole year of work we did.
I don’t know you. I don’t know your dog or how he interacts with other dogs so I advocated for him. “Call your dog,” I called to you. I stopped saying please in situations like this because I’ve found people take it as a question and not a statement.
You waved your hand in an “it’s ok” gesture. No. It’s not ok. My dog and I deserve space and to feel comfortable too. I replied with, “No. If he comes closer to us, I’ll kick him.”
Do I want to kick your dog? No. I love dogs and it’s not your dog’s fault that you can’t respect other people’s space. Unfortunately, my dog comes before yours. His safety and piece of mind are my top priority.
Thankfully, you chose to recall him so it didn’t have to come to that and I’m hoping that that interaction stuck with you. There are people who are even more fed up than I am with off leash dogs rushing their dogs and they no longer give warnings because too often they fall on deaf ears.
Off leash dogs should not approach people or other dogs without explicit permission when they are in public spaces that are not specifically designed for that.
Thanks for your time.
That one “crazy” lady
