18
Wednesday, May 3, 2017 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon
Paw
Prints
Jodi Schneider McNamee
Columnist
Keep ’em
on a leash!
Two years ago, a Sisters
resident was knocked
down by a non-aggressive
unleashed dog while walking
her dog. Her injuries were
substantial and wouldn’t
have happened if the dog
was being supervised by a
responsible pet parent/owner.
Failing to control your
dog is an act of negligence,
even before the dog causes
an injury. You are liable for
your dog’s actions — always.
While bites and maulings
are the most common form
of injuries caused by dogs,
there are additional accidents
responsible for thousands
of injuries each year in the
United States. They include
knock-downs, tripping, and
falling over dogs, and even
head-butts. In an excitable
state, a dog can jump up on
you and knock you down
even while on leash. Non-
aggressive dogs sometimes
unintentionally trip or knock
people down, resulting in
injuries.
Recently I was knocked
down by an unleashed dog,
resulting in emergency sur-
gery for two broken bones in
the right knee. Besides bro-
ken bones there was a small
ankle fracture and a hema-
toma in the left leg.
A rule of thumb for any
pet parent, regardless of the
dog’s behavior, is to make
sure you have a good strong
leash and that you main-
tain control of the dog at all
times.
Some pet parents will
tell you “my dog will stay
with me, we don’t need the
leash,” but then the concern
is focused on the other dogs.
You may own a friendly
dog, but what about all the
other dogs? Your dog could
be attacked by another dog
if that animal considers your
dog to be invading his ter-
ritory. Or another dog may
see your unleashed pet as
a potential danger to his
human. Your dog could be
seriously hurt.
By having your dog on
leash, you’ll have some
leverage in pulling your dog
away from other dogs who
are not as well behaved.
Another act of negligence
is when your dog becomes
aggressive-looking and reac-
tionary to other dogs (or
people) when on-leash. This
is called “leash aggression.”
If the dog is dealing with
intense frustration, there
can be a loss of self-control
which can increase the likeli-
hood of a bite.
There are a variety of rea-
sons a dog may have leash
aggression and should be
seen by a dog behaviorist.
Be sure you can control
your dog before taking him
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Part of being a respon-
sible pet owner means to
license and provide perma-
nent identification for pets.
Spay or neuter your pets.
Provide training, physical
care, socialization and medi-
cal attention. Another part of
being a responsible pet par-
ent is not to allow your pet to
become a threat or nuisance
in the community.
Sisters has their own city
codes or regulations under
animal nuisance.
6.05.050 At Large
“At large” means off the
premises of the owner while
the dog is not under the com-
plete control of the owner
or keeper by adequate leash
or harness. However, a dog
in a duly recognized obedi-
ence school on field training
exercise and under the direct
supervision of a handler or a
dog within a vehicle shall not
be considered “at large.” No
animal or dog shall run at
large. The owner or keeper
is responsible for an animal
or dog.
As a responsible pet-
owner, you should not allow
your dog to run free or be
off-leash while you walk
together.
Dogs get distracted. Even
if your pooch is under strong
verbal command, it’s all too
easy for him to have “selec-
tive hearing” when running
around off-leash. You may
think you have Fido under
control, but if a cat went run-
ning under his nose he just
might chase it. What if some-
thing suddenly spooked your
dog, like a vehicle backfir-
ing? He could end up out in
the street and in that moment,
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the circumstances; or has
attacked a person or domes-
tic animal without provoca-
tion; or is trained for or used
in animal fighting.
No owner or keeper of
a dangerous animal or dog
shall permit such animal or
dog to go unconfined on the
premises of the owner or
keeper. No owner or keeper
of a dangerous animal or
dog shall permit such ani-
mal or dog to go beyond
the premises of such per-
son unless such animal or
dog is securely leashed and
humanely muzzled or other-
wise securely restrained and
humanly muzzled.
Owning a dog is not just
a privilege — it’s a responsi-
bility. All pet parents have a
responsibility to ensure their
own dogs are kept under
control at all times and they
behave in a way that is safe
and avoids nuisance to the
community.
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get hit by a car.
6.05.060 Conditions when
an animal or dog is a public
nuisance
An animal or dog is a nui-
sance if it: Disturbs any per-
son by frequent or prolonged
noises. Bites or injures a per-
son. Places a person in fear
of imminent physical injury,
without provocation. Chases
vehicles or people. Damages
or destroys property belong-
ing to a person other than the
owner or keeper of the ani-
mal or dog. Injures or kills
an animal or fowl belonging
to a person other than the
owner or keeper of the ani-
mal or dog.
6.05.070 Dangerous ani-
mals or dogs
A “dangerous animal
or dog” means any animal
or dog which has: with-
out provocation, placed a
person in fear of imminent
physical injury, said fear
being reasonable under
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PHOTO BY JODI SCHNEIDER MCNAMEE
Ollie and Mia — always on a leash.
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