Leash your dogsMy husband and I have been walking the Beach Lake trails lately. On one occasion, out in the woods on the Bridge Trail, we encountered a couple with a large poodle-type dog, Lucy, off-leash. The woman tried yelling commands calling for stop Lucy from running up to us. Lucy continued to run circles around us as we were descending the hill. With the woman yelling at us “She won’t hurt you, she’s friendly,” Lucy continued to race between us and the man at the bottom of hill. We stopped mid-hill, hoping Lucy would run toward the woman or man.
The woman wasn’t able to get Lucy on the leash that she carried in her hand. Lucy finally ran close enough to the man at the bottom of the hill so he could hold her by her collar.
As we made it to the parking lot, we encountered another off-leash bird dog, running back and forth across the parking from where we were parked and where the owner was parked. The owner tried verbal commands, but the dog continued to ignore him. We made our way to our car and the owner still hadn’t got the dog to come to his car. We had to wait to move our car until the owner came and got the dog.
A few days later, as we exited the trail end, Lucy and her owners were just heading out on the trails, with Lucy off-leash running ahead of them.
It clearly states “Dogs must be leashed” on the large information board in plain view from the parking lot. Besides, the area is also under the municipal leash law. Eagle River is trying to get a dog park, but until then, leash your dog and we can all enjoy the trails, too!
— Carol Smyth
Eagle River
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