Ignore Leash Laws? YOU are the A-hole!

If you frequent public parks and trials, you know that people love to walk their dogs there . Hell, I have a dog, and I love to walk him at our nearest trail as well.

What I never, ever do , however, is make my dog someone else’s problem. When we are out walking, my dog is always on a leash, and I am really sick and tired of people who let their dogs run wild.

I personally hike on some rough terrain wearing a fifty pound weight vest. I get irate when someone’s pooch bounds up to me and bumps or nudges me. I have never lost balance , but I easily could. And, while I am 51 and in pretty good health, there are many elderly people who hike where I do who actually use hiking poles, they should not be subjected to someone’s slobbering dog just because the dog’s owner is too selfish to follow the law.

It’s bad enough that people let their dogs run rampant and clearly ignore the laws that lucidly demand all dogs be leashed, but many of them then get mad at YOU if you say something to them about it.

Imagine how much of a tool you have to be to violate the law, have your dog annoy the crap out of people, and then take offense when you get called out on it! You have to be a TREMENDOUS tool, and unfortunately public trails seem to be a tremendous toolbox because tool after tool does just what I have described.

I once almost got into a physical altercation with a guy out on the trail. His dimwitted mutt came careening around a corner and jumped up on me. It wasn’t being aggressive, but it was also very much not appreciated and very much unwanted. When his owner came around the bend I politely said “Sir, would you please follow the law and put your animal on a leash?”. His response was to say “We have been coming out here every day….” and then I cut him off saying that isn’t relevant. He said he knew it wasn’t but continued to argue. His selfishness had already cost me enough time, so I told him to f-off and walked away. He yelled and screamed at me, but I put my headphones in and went on. There is no sense talking to somebody who knows they are being a dick and refuses to change.

In modern times, it is often very hard to determine who is the asshole in certain situations. If you are in traffic is the guy who zooms up to cut in the asshole or is he just following the “zipper method” of merging that is endorsed? If you are at a grocery store and a mother with fussy little children in tow slips a few extra items on to the belt of the express lane is she the asshole or are you for calling it out? If you receive a “Reply All” email that really only needed to be sent to a few people is the sender the asshole or are all the people who ask him or her NOT to reply all by….REPLYING ALL?

But, if your enjoyment of your dog involves letting it run wild off its leash in clear defiance of the law in an area where it can clearly annoy or even injure others there is no doubt- YOU are the ASSHOLE!