Comments on: Walking Your Dog Downtown? Leash That Puppy!

By: jonashpdx

jonashpdx — Sun, 12 Aug 2007 16:10:36 +0000

Wow, sorry to hear about your dog (and the lack of response to his attack). I hope he’s doing better now.

And I hope you don’t take this incident and some asshole dog owner as indicative of the whole city and its population– coming here (from both the LA area and some time on the East Coast), I have to say that the majority of the people here are willing to step in and give a hand when asked for.

My own dog ran out of his yard the other day, and it was a good reminder to me both to reinforce his off-leash training and to not have him be off-leash if I don’t have total control.

That said, accidents happen. I don’t know if the dog who attacked your dog was just wandering or escaped from his yard (which is neglect in itself — if your dog can get out of his yard, don’t leave him in it when you’re not home). but I too have seen dogs wandering my neighborhood unattended.

By: Stephanie

Stephanie — Sun, 12 Aug 2007 14:30:09 +0000

My leashed dog and I were attacked last night by a loose dog in our N. PDX neighborhood. I spent two hours at Dove Lewis watching my poor dog get his bite wounds cleaned, stitched, and a drain inserted. I was up all night with him since he can’t lie down in a comfortable position. He whimpered in pain all night. Frankly, I have NO patience for people who do not leash their dogs. The “let the doggies roam free” attitude I see all over Portland is bulls*it! No dog, no matter how well-behaved should be off a leash (unless in a designated area). To top it all off, I screamed for help as my dog was being attacked and not a single soul came over to help me (and it was a beautiful day with lots of folks outside). I just arrived in Portland one month ago from the East Coast and I must say the lack of compassion I experienced left me pretty discouraged. Where is the humanity?

By: Lelo

Lelo — Tue, 31 Jul 2007 23:13:16 +0000

You know what ***really*** gets me? Kids on leashes. Next time I see one I’m tempted to offer a treat if they sit.

By: warner

warner — Tue, 31 Jul 2007 20:10:07 +0000

Closer to on-topic; Recently had an amusing/horrifying experience watching an off-leash doggie dodge in and out of downtown traffic at about 4:30pm one day. A couple of guys standing at the curb calling him/her, to no avail of course. I couldn’t stand to watch, and there were quite a few folks around, so I moved on to my bus. But really, give me a break. Put your dogs on a leash downtown for sure! Even if it’s one of those anarchist/crosscountry-traveler rope thingies you see.

By: Kevin

Kevin — Tue, 31 Jul 2007 19:13:50 +0000

You know what annoys me? Humans off-leash. These humans have a tendency to run all around and they think they own the roads and sidewalks. They have completely transformed the earth to the detriment of all other species, and they are so arrogant as to believe they actually rule the place. They are a dreadful species and the sooner we can get rid of them the better. I can’t stand them.

By: Mr. Viddy

Mr. Viddy — Tue, 31 Jul 2007 17:49:48 +0000

Whoa nelly. My doggy has one of those 15 foot expandable leashes but anytime I am in public or see people coming our way I shorten up that leash. My dog is pretty stable but she can get distracted so I’d never take her off the leash in public.

It is a pet peeve of mine to see other dog owners with their pets walking free off leash in public. You never know what might happen.

By: jonashpdx

jonashpdx — Tue, 31 Jul 2007 16:34:10 +0000

divebarwife: see, that’s common sense use of the extendoleash. but i can’t tell you how many dogs i’ve seen at full extension who then get all sorts of tangled up in my leash or around a pole or are just way too far out from their owners for the “parent” to be able to control their dog. and when it’s a bigger dog on one of those and they get excited, watch out, ’cause they’ve got time to build up some momentum.

By: divebarwife

divebarwife — Tue, 31 Jul 2007 16:27:52 +0000

Huh – I had no idea that my leash was “illegal”

I use one of those long retractable ones – but the joys of those are that when I’m in a place with no other people around in my neighborhood or out hiking when we go camping, I can let her run ahead of me sniffing and exploring, but because of the retraction when we get anywhere near people or traffic – she’s up close by my side.

By: jonashpdx

jonashpdx — Tue, 31 Jul 2007 16:13:53 +0000

see, now there’s a dog in my neighborhood — with a VERY responsible owner — who is off-leash all the time. but this dog is seriously better trained than most people, and when I see him off-leash, I don’t mind because I know how good he is. and I let me dog run around my front yard sometimes without a leash because he’s been trained not to go off our property. but if either of those dogs were downtown or in a crowd, i’d want them on a leash.

and per the above law about eight-foot leashes, i’d really like to see some people with those extendable up-to-15-feet leashes get tickets someday…

By: Kerry

Kerry — Tue, 31 Jul 2007 16:06:45 +0000

Oh boy, the dog leash discussion again… Some people in Portland have some serious opinions on this and I’m sure we will hear from them.

Personally, I agree with both posters so far. Dogs off leash annoy me. Actually, it’s not the dogs that annoy me, it’s the owners lack or respect for the law and the rest of the public. I have lost track of the number of times that my kids have been harrasses by off-leash dogs while out playing.

Multnomah county is responsible for enforcing leash laws. And the law states:

¬ß 13.305 Duties Of Owners.
(A) For the purposes of this section, unless otherwise limited, the owner is ultimately responsible for the behavior of the animal regardless of whether the owner or another member of the owner’s household or a household visitor permitted the animal to engage in the behavior that is the subject of the violation.
(B) It is unlawful for any person to commit any of the following: (1) Permit an animal to be an animal at large*;….

*ANIMAL AT LARGE. Any animal, excluding domestic cats, that is not physically restrained on owner’s or keeper’s premises including motorized vehicles in a manner that physically prevents the animal from leaving the premises or reaching any public areas; or, is not physically restrained when on public property, or any public area, by a leash, tether or other physical control device not to exceed eight feet in length and under the physical control of a capable person.

So, unless it’s in a designated “off leash area”, dogs need to be leashed while in public. Period.