On Feb. 9, op-ed contributor Patrick Sullivan wrote that a stricter leash law would somehow create more problems. His commentary reminded me of the time I was bitten by an unleashed dog while I was skiing near the Campbell Creek Science Center. I confronted the owners and their response was, “Our dog doesn’t bite.” Therefore, I wasn’t bitten. When my anger cooled, I decided to view it as a comedy. However, there are good reasons why many of us don’t want to be approached by dogs we don’t know. There is a reason the municipality has received a large number of complaints year after year.
Mr. Sullivan mentioned how inconvenient it would be for cyclists to leash their dogs. I am reminded of the fat-tire cyclist who has used my street, unleashed dog running behind, laboring to have a bowel movement, stringing its feces out for about 50 yards; it is convenient for the cyclist to be unaware of this and the feces remains uncollected. There is an ordinance that feces must be collected, and there is a connection between that and the leash law.
Mr. Sullivan referred to the sense of community we all want to feel, and appealed to our common sense. I appreciate the sentiment, but he also needs to understand that compliance with the law among dog owners is generally voluntary, and compliance, as well as common sense, is often absent among some dog owners. He failed to make the connection that if dog owners obeyed the existing laws, and used common sense, we would not be discussing this at all.
— Clarence Crawford
Anchorage
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