I had a similar situation. A local park I used to run in was taken over by dog owners. The dogs were never on a leash and eventually it progressed to people bringing in attack dogs to scare the runners off despite all the no dogs signs. As far as I know, the dogs still own the park.
I did not see the post about dog bitings.
My dog is still young, and only two years old. He is skittish, and afraid. He has never bitten anyone, and I've had him since he was released from the breeder at 2 months. I'm often asked where I got him, because other dog owners wanted a dog like him, since A) he is trained not to jump up on people, and B) does not bark.
And to put more facts into this, These same kids have been reported to police calling older women "c-nts" and yelling sexually abusive words at young women walking alone with their dogs. The police have gone to the kid's homes, and apparently threatened to arrest one of the kids on grounds of threats, and sexual abuse (which I guess is under the umbrella when calling women c-nts, not sure)
Yet, the coach never disciplines anyone, and the same kids are always on the team, and never gone, due to a suspension or expelled. And, all other dog walkers say they were never given an apology from a coach or athlete.
Now, Dog lover, what would you do if it was your wife walking alone and she told you these kids called her a c-nt?
Would you feel it was deserving because the dog was off-leash deep into the trails, as I was?
Would you be in here defending them then?
I appreciate you responding to some of our posts, but you are now adding additional information that could change how we feel. Of course nobody would want a bunch of high school kids saying vulgar things to anyone, especially their wife. If they are doing this, they need to be reprimanded, as does the coach.
In regards to your original post, I thank you for admitting that the dog was not on a leash. As you can see from many of the replies, this is a frustrating thing for many runners, not just high school teams. It does not matter how big the dog is or how friendly he is. Dogs need to be leashed. A skittish dog is MORE likely to accidentally trip a runner. I am much more concerned about a dog being startled by runners and tripping them than I am by being bitten. I will say though that on two different occasions friends of mine have been bitten by a dog that the owner said was friendly. Dogs are not expecting runners and may think we are attacking them.
So if what you say is true about these kids, yes their coach and the team should be reprimanded. However, you need to start obeying the law and leash your dog.
Thank you for your feedback.
Yes, my dog was off leash. It always was and will be once I'm a considerable distance back into the woods. And, as stated earlier, the police are ok with this. Otherwise I would keep him on leash.
I think the bigger issue is the Jim Jones atmosphere the coach has created. These kids don't show up like this, and it seems like too much of a coincidence that the very thing the kids yell is the same topic the coach had issues with .
But the abusive language to females walking alone should be taken serious and the school, if not the coach should squash it and there should have, in my mind some sort of apology to a woman by the coach. but, none so far, as far as I know.
Is there a possibility the OP is Brian Williams, and when we find a reasonable explanation for his accusations about these kids' behavior (great detective work on this thread, btw), he will then claim that they are Deatheaters and He Who Must Not Be Named has returned?
Dog lover, but not owners wrote:
Are you an idiot? This story had absolutely nothing to do with the damn dog. Are you seriously this dumb? That was just a quick introduction as to what he was doing in the park. Literally an irrelevant detail. Sometimes I wonder how people like this manage to survive.[/quote]
Did you read the story? Did you read about the coach going off about dogs in the park? If you aren't intelligent enough to read between the lines and realize there was a reason that the kids shouted obscenities at the dog owner, then you are beyond clueless. The poster wanted sympathy and as with most dog owners, doesn't think he is doing anything wrong by not having his dog on a leash.
It had everything to do with the dog. Read closer. Use some reasoning and then apologize for calling someone an idiot that figured out what the poster left out.[/quote]
At literally no point did he say whether or not the dog is on a leash or not, so you can't make this whole thing about whether or not he should have to leash his dog. Thats not the issue at hand. The kids yelled obscenities at him; we've all been in high school, teenagers act like punks and they think its hilarious. This wasn't about OP's dog (whether it was leashed or not), they were just punks being punks, yelling at middle aged people when they run by. They thinks its the greatest thing in the world. That coach was simply sticking up for his kids instead of accepting responsibility for his runners acting like punks.
If you get bitten by a dog, are you gonna yell obscenities at every single person you see walking their dog in the park? Seriously? Those kids don't own the park, they can't harass you for using it. When did walking your dog become such a hostile action? You shouldn't have to tolerate a bunch of jerks like that every time you wanna walk your dog in the park for christ's sake.
OP, report them to the AD. Eventually the rest of the community will say enough is enough and contact the school about the team's behavior. And if they don' like it, they can go to city hall and petition to have dogs banned from the park so it can be their own little training field. I'd love to see them pull that one off.
John Charles wrote:
I did not see the post about dog bitings.
My dog is still young, and only two years old. He is skittish, and afraid. He has never bitten anyone, and I've had him since he was released from the breeder at 2 months. I'm often asked where I got him, because other dog owners wanted a dog like him, since A) he is trained not to jump up on people, and B) does not bark.
And to put more facts into this, These same kids have been reported to police calling older women "c-nts" and yelling sexually abusive words at young women walking alone with their dogs. The police have gone to the kid's homes, and apparently threatened to arrest one of the kids on grounds of threats, and sexual abuse (which I guess is under the umbrella when calling women c-nts, not sure)
Yet, the coach never disciplines anyone, and the same kids are always on the team, and never gone, due to a suspension or expelled. And, all other dog walkers say they were never given an apology from a coach or athlete.
Now, Dog lover, what would you do if it was your wife walking alone and she told you these kids called her a c-nt?
Would you feel it was deserving because the dog was off-leash deep into the trails, as I was?
Would you be in here defending them then?
Massive +1 here, it is more than obvious that these kids were just attempting to wreak havoc. Appalled that you all said the OP was at fault cause he was walking his dog and some kids harassed him. Trolling?
kod3200 wrote:
John Charles wrote:I did not see the post about dog bitings.
My dog is still young, and only two years old. He is skittish, and afraid. He has never bitten anyone, and I've had him since he was released from the breeder at 2 months. I'm often asked where I got him, because other dog owners wanted a dog like him, since A) he is trained not to jump up on people, and B) does not bark.
And to put more facts into this, These same kids have been reported to police calling older women "c-nts" and yelling sexually abusive words at young women walking alone with their dogs. The police have gone to the kid's homes, and apparently threatened to arrest one of the kids on grounds of threats, and sexual abuse (which I guess is under the umbrella when calling women c-nts, not sure)
Yet, the coach never disciplines anyone, and the same kids are always on the team, and never gone, due to a suspension or expelled. And, all other dog walkers say they were never given an apology from a coach or athlete.
Now, Dog lover, what would you do if it was your wife walking alone and she told you these kids called her a c-nt?
Would you feel it was deserving because the dog was off-leash deep into the trails, as I was?
Would you be in here defending them then?
Massive +1 here, it is more than obvious that these kids were just attempting to wreak havoc. Appalled that you all said the OP was at fault cause he was walking his dog and some kids harassed him. Trolling?
"Wreak havoc"? Timothy Mcveigh was trying to wreak havoc. At worst, these kids were trying to be dicks. I'm pretty sure no havoc was wreaked.
worst hyperbole ever wrote:
kod3200 wrote:Massive +1 here, it is more than obvious that these kids were just attempting to wreak havoc. Appalled that you all said the OP was at fault cause he was walking his dog and some kids harassed him. Trolling?
"Wreak havoc"? Timothy Mcveigh was trying to wreak havoc. At worst, these kids were trying to be dicks. I'm pretty sure no havoc was wreaked.
They sexually harassed a woman in the park and were almost arrested, and if that wasn't bad enough they're back at it with OP causing more problems. Its havoc at the least, and they're gonna end up suspended/expelled, or at least kicked off the team, and it won't be the coach's decision. I guarantee it.
kod3200, you certainly are a special kind of stupid. You rip on people for making assumptions and then do the same exact thing. Nobody knows exactly what went down and the fact that the op added a bunch of things to the story after he realized he wasn't getting support says a lot right there. If a team is running hard and a dog jumps in their way and trips them or almost trips them then yes they have a right to be upset. Did they handle it the correct way. Probably not but I wasn't there and neither were you.
The bottom line is dogs belong on a leash no matter what. It is the law and I do my best to get every dog walker a ticket if they don't have a leash. The world does not revolve around them and their pets. The park should be for everyone to use and as you can tell by many of the responses, runners have had to stop running in certain parks because of people breaking the law.
One of my favorite sayings is " you can't fix stupid".
the kids weren't right to yell obscenities at you and their coach should have spoken to them about it. But, you are not right to disobery a leash law, even if your dog wouldn't ever harm anyone. Even if a certain police officer told you it was ok. The issue is that dogs can be harmful to runners. All it takes is one dog, even a small puppy to become startled and bite a runner just right for a big hospital bill. I've been bitten by a dog before, not even a big one, and it ripped into my calf pretty bad. I was hurting for a few days after. I was lucky that I got away without having to hurt the dog. A bit deeper and it could have done permanent damage and I would have had to have sued the owner to cover my medical expenses. This was an off leash dog in a neighborhood, not even the trails. There have been instances where off leash dogs have even killed runners. If your dog needs to be off leash, you should go to a dog park, not break the law and endanger others.
kod3200 wrote:
worst hyperbole ever wrote:"Wreak havoc"? Timothy Mcveigh was trying to wreak havoc. At worst, these kids were trying to be dicks. I'm pretty sure no havoc was wreaked.
They sexually harassed a woman in the park and were almost arrested, and if that wasn't bad enough they're back at it with OP causing more problems. Its havoc at the least, and they're gonna end up suspended/expelled, or at least kicked off the team, and it won't be the coach's decision. I guarantee it.
Really? They're causing widespread destruction?
If your dog was off-leash, then you were at fault and there is no reason to blame the teenagers.
Nearly every post on this thread has a major spelling or usage error.
jjjjjj wrote:
If your dog was off-leash, then you were at fault and there is no reason to blame the teenagers.
Nearly every post on this thread has a major spelling or usage error.
These kids may or may not have been punks, but the fact that the OP and people like kod3000 see nothing wrong with what the OP did is what is wrong with society nowadays. So many people out for themselves without any consideration for those around them. There is a leash law for a reason and I would say well over half of the dog owners do not follow it. Why? Because it is too inconvenient for them and they want things their way. It is ridiculous that people have to stay away from a park because of dog owners.
As can be seen by my number of posts, this is something that really bothers me. My latest encounter with a rude dog owner was a couple of months ago and I was running on trails and came around a corner and a little dog jumped in the middle of the trail and I had to jump out of the way and sprained my ankle slightly. Thankfully I wasn't hurt worse. The owner was about 20 feet away and I assumed she was going to apologize (I know bad assumption), but instead she started yelling at me for scaring her dog. Really. If she had been decent and kind I would have just asked her to leash her dog and continued my run, but once she started yelling at me for her illegally unleashed dog tripping me, I definitely got into it with her. What a miserable woman. You could tell her friend was embarrassed for this woman and she actually tried to apologize for her friend, but the friend then yelled at her and said she has every right to walk her dog without a leash and I should go run somewhere else. Pure selfishness and unfortunately what many of the dog owners are like. Very sad.
Another good story was from a couple of years ago and has a little different twist since the dogs were leashed. I was running in a neighborhood and I guess I startled two dogs in their front yard who were chained together and they jumped onto the sidewalk from behind a bush. Thankfully my old steeple chase instincts took over and I was able to jump over the chain and not trip. The owner was in her back yard and I yelled to her that I almost kicked her dogs. Again, instead of apologizing, she started screaming at me for being selfish, that I need to learn how to run, I am an awful human being, etc. I tried to explain to her that the leash was too long and the dogs should not be able to jump out on to the public sidewalk and that I could have been really hurt if I hadn't jumped over their connected chain. She did not listen to a word I said; just wanted to defend her dogs, who did nothing wrong. I am never angry at the dogs, just the careless and selfish dog owners. But of course, they and their pets can do no wrong.
Anyone else have any good selfish dog owner stories.
Dog lover, but not owners wrote:
Anyone else have any good selfish dog owner stories.
This can be expanded much, much further. It is not a "selfish dog owner" problem, it is a societal problem. It is called entitlement. The word has been one of few used correctly on this thread.
I do agree with the leash supporters. However, I also believe the OP pointed out that is it NOT illegal in this park to have a dog off leash. I am not a "public park law specialist" so please don't roast me if that is silly/stupid. In the least, he believed it was not illegal, so cut him some slack for that.
All being said, the OP needs to have his dog on a leash and he also needs to report the teenagers for behavior beyond this thread.
OP
As a parent of a former hs track athlete, I will say this.
I would want to know about this, and I, and I alone would put an end to this behavior right away.
My question is why didn't this kid's parents do something?
I get bit about once a year by a small dog. Dog owners assume that I as a runner should run out of their way. Not so. Dogs don't pay taxes. I do. I'll run where I want. After they bite my ankle I give em a nice kick.
row row rowbury your boat wrote:
Dog lover, but not owners wrote:Anyone else have any good selfish dog owner stories.
This can be expanded much, much further. It is not a "selfish dog owner" problem, it is a societal problem. It is called entitlement. The word has been one of few used correctly on this thread.
I do agree with the leash supporters. However, I also believe the OP pointed out that is it NOT illegal in this park to have a dog off leash. I am not a "public park law specialist" so please don't roast me if that is silly/stupid. In the least, he believed it was not illegal, so cut him some slack for that.
All being said, the OP needs to have his dog on a leash and he also needs to report the teenagers for behavior beyond this thread.
I think it is very, very rare to have any public park without a leash law. In this case, I don't think the OP knows either way and the police were very vague about it saying "In this park, police have spoken to several people who walk here and are afraid of dogs. On every occasion they have said the same thing: "as long as the dog is friendly and obeys the owner, no problem". So who is to say if a dog is friendly or obeys his owner. That is open to interpretation and is one reason why they have the law in the first place. Someone who is afraid of dogs might be petrified if a well behaved dog came running at them, even if they turned around when the owner yelled for them. The dog might want to play, but they don't know that. Someone running fast could get tangled up in a friendly little yappy dog. The very fact that the OP is saying there are people in the park who are afraid of dogs and talk to the police about it, shows that this is a problem. I am sure some people who are afraid of dogs have just stopped going to the park, just as some of my runner friends have for fear of being tripped or bitten.
I have read most posts, including the first. What I see is a pattern.
I'm a dog owner, and a runner. yes I have seen dogs run towards me, but never been bitten.
I think most of you complaining to the Op are missing the point. The pattern I'm seeing is that an under aged kid is yelling at adults, calling women c-nts, and there is no recourse or no punishment done to this kid?
What? Really?
I can only speak about my own child. If he/she did this, I would not hesitate to grab them by the ear, regardless of the parents who see it. I would drag my son, physically, if needed, to the person(s) he yelled obscenities, and make him apologize. I would let the police handle the law.
And, if the police did not, I would report the dog owner(s) who were said to be breaking the leash law.
However, I read the OP's statement that police said it was ok, if far enough into the woods, and the dog obeyed?
I'm assuming this was the case.
You know what, regardless, I have my own standards for my children, and I would not accept that behavior, at all. even if this coach is provoking the kids, I would teach my son better, and maybe I'd confront the coach.
Bottom line, I've read the posts, and if this is all true, there is no excuse for any body to threaten, yell at or sexual profanity to a woman.
I can't believe some of you are supporting this behavior. I hope you are not parents.