What a lovely day! I sure love fall. Had planned to take a ride upcountry to see the foliage, but the north country forecast was cloudy w/ a chance of afternoon showers. Seemed pointless to leave a beautiful day at home to make a 2 hr drive and risk clouds and showers. Instead, I decided on a drive to Northwood Meadows, as it is a lovely walk, especially in the fall. Its been at least a couple years since Ive been. I feel badly that my small dogs dont get to enjoy the frequent walks in the woods that my big dogs did ... I miss it as well as it just doesnt seem right to walk in the woods WITHOUT a dog. Sadly our walk reinforced the reason that I DONT take my dogs on walks on public trails. Despite a REALLY LARGE sign at the parking lot / trailhead stating that All dogs must be leashed ALL of the dogs we encountered were LOOSE. The first couple, a Terv and a lab were accompanying a group horseback riding, off leash of course ... I saw them first and stopped, I guess reading about Dee Ganleys nice well trained trail dogs, made me think they might actually sit / stay while we passed. Ha! Once they spotted us, the dogs raced over, totally ignoring repeated attempts from the riders to recall them. They flanked us, w/ one in front and one behind the dogs. I got the impression the Terv was hoping one would run so he could take off after it. Luckily my dogs didnt complain at have strange dogs in their face (not sure how that would have worked out!) and eventually after much screaming, the dogs finally returned to the riders. Whew! Next encounter was a woman w/ a pack of 5 Shepherds and BCs. All loose. Those I saw well in advance and the woman was able stop them, I moved well off the trail and they went on by. I got the impression the woman was a bit offended that I gave her pack such a wide berth ... Theyd have been fine! She insisted. Heres the thing ... would they have been? Maybe. Unfortunately w/ 5lb dogs it only takes ONE Oh, hes NEVER reacted that way before! to end up with a badly injured dog, or worse. In both of these cases, there was no way owners on horseback or someone w/ FIVE loose dogs could have possibly intervened if things went wrong. While we would LIKE to assume that people who dont have full control of their dogs WONT let them off leash, I know for a fact that is NOT a safe assumption. On the plus side, I did encounter one nice lady with a black lab who promptly leashed her dog when she saw us coming (something I always did when walking w/ my big dogs, even though they would have been fine). I spoke to her for awhile after thanking her for being courteous - come to find out that her dog had been chased more than once by the shepherd pack! Apparently one persons idea of fine is not necessarily the same as another. I wish there was a solution. On the rare occasion that I do treat my dogs to a fun walk, I avoid week-ends or late in the day and never take more than 2. Who knows what would have happened if I had Trixie with me as Im sure she would NOT have been calm when rushed by big dogs she didnt know. A totally different outcome perhaps ... But all in all we enjoyed our day out, despite the few nerve wracking encounters.
Posted on: Thu, 09 Oct 2014 21:53:16 +0000
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