Loose Dogs Menace Porch-Dwellers

I would love to reclaim the “front porch culture” (July ‘03 issue), but my front porch and yard are just not safe. You see, I live just east of Humboldt Blvd. near the railroad right-of-way path that runs between Gordon Park and North Avenue. Many people like to walk their dogs on this path and most of these people don’t keep their dogs on a leash.

Once I was walking on the path to the park with my seven-year-old and my two-year-old when a dog ran up to them and began to jump on them and then nip at them. The dog’s owner was several feet behind and she did not pick up her pace when she saw her dog harassing my kids. When she finally got to her dog, she pulled the dog away and scolded the dog but never said a word of apology to me. Luckily, my children were not hurt, although my two-year-old son’s face was scratched.

Just today, my husband told me he saw two PIT BULLS running down my street on the way to the path, with their owner paces behind them. We decided we could no longer allow our kids to play out in the front yard at all.

I wish dog owners would be more considerate and obey leash laws. Often people will call over, as their dogs make a run for my kids, “Don’t worry, she’s friendly!” What they don’t realize is how scary it must feel to have even a “friendly” creature that is twice as big and heavy as the child, rushing at one like that.

J.T. Schrank

Riverwest Currents - Volume 2 - Issue 8 - August 2003