Dillingham Haggblom

Commute—08/23/10

Good to see Andrew Nelson last night on his bike!  If I can manage it, I’ll set up a group ride for Saturday.  I’ve had to go into work the last two Saturdays, but I’m hoping this weekend is different.  Those two white poodles walked by “Rambo” on the Kanakanak sidewalk are highly aggressive towards cyclists—they about pulled his arms out this morning when I went by.  Of course, his housemate’s yellow lab did the same thing to her, minus the death threats.  Pat Walsh’s golden retriever is always loose when he’s out (including this morning), something I’ve talked to him about before.  His reply was that his dog is not a problem, it’s the loose ones that are, and until the city does something about them, he’s not using a leash.  That’s the spirit—let’s not set a good example by doing what the sign says and keeping our dogs on leashes.  Erica Rogers has the same attitude—she walks on the Lake Road sidewalk with her black lab, who is typically off leash.  Like Pat, she has been frustrated at neighbor’s loose dogs, but then violates the leash law herself.  These two folks consider themselves good pet owners and those that let their dogs out by themselves bad pet owners.  I agree that the latter are bad pet owners, or not even pet owners, but the end result is the same—unleashed dogs on public property, whether the dog is 5 feet from the owner or 200 feet or a mile.  It doesn’t matter if the dog is “friendly”—a friendly lab can bust your knees in no time at all by running into you.  It’s all the same to a cyclist who has to figure out a plan to navigate the loose dog scene should they choose to use the sidewalks (which is pretty necessary along Kanakanak Road right now).  Spread the word—dogs on leashes on public property, regardless of dog attributes.  Somebody needs to remind Louie Jones, too (he walks Beth Pirillos’ pit bull terrier, Rocky) on the Kanakanak Road sidewalk.  Louie has apparently tuned me out.