I want to start off by saying that I realize there are many appropriate places to allow your dog to run off leash.  Your backyard is a good place, dog parks are another.  Those are great places for a dog to experience some freedom in a controlled environment.

Your front yard is not a good place to let your dog roam freely off leash especially if you life in the city or suburbs.  You might say “But, my dog is well behaved!  She answers all my commands!”  But she do so when another dog is walking down the street?  Can you trust your dog implicitly when something might distract them so much they might wander off?

I walk Misha every day.  She is a small dog–8 pounds.  Far too many times, I have had to pick her up and scare off dogs that have been allowed to run off leash in the owner’s yard.  In most cases, these are small dogs and the people are on their porches or in their garages.  Sometimes they think it’s “cute” that “Buddy” has run up to “make friends” with the cute little Jack Russell.  Other times, they don’t care at all.  What harm can a little dog do, right?

I assure you that it is neither cute nor harmless.  Because of dog owners who think that it’s no big deal, my dog has become afraid of strange dogs because of the numerous times an unknown dog has run out of nowhere and approached her.  When she is sprung on like this, she attacks.  I certainly don’t want to see my dog get attacked or see her harm another dog.  Those teeth are just as vicious in an 8 pound dog when that dog is threatened.  And, what if one of those dogs bites someone?  Do they really want their dog to be taken and put into quarantine?

It’s very frustrating for me.  Almost every Saturday, I have to walk on guard because people are out in their garages working. Their dogs are part way down the street and they don’t even know about it!  Most of the time I end up chasing the dog back home carrying Misha in my arms.  When I find the owners, I don’t even get an apology that their dog was following me home!  They seem incredibly clueless to the fact that our dogs might have gotten in a fight or as their dog crossed streets with me it could have been hit by a car.

I don’t think it’s fair that every Saturday I have to change my route because there are loose dogs in front of houses.  We have leash laws in my city.  By rights, none of these dogs should be roaming freely with the owners present or not.

I wish more people would be concerned about the welfare of their pets and be considerate for the other dog owner’s trying to take a walk.  I don’t think it’s right that I should keep my dog indoors just because someone else thinks it’s okay for their dog to roam everywhere.  We should all be able to enjoy the neighborhood.  My dog on leash at my side obeying me.  Your dog on leash at your side sitting on your porch or in your garage.  Is that too much to ask?

Then she darted into the room.  Before we knew it she had something in her mouth that looked suspiciously like an ornament hook.  I grabbed her and felt nothing.  But, there was no hook on the ground.

After several minutes of back and forth, I decided to call the emergency vet clinic.  Of course, I should bring her in!  Her size (7 1/2 lbs.) made it more of a danger.  So, off we went to the emergency clinic.

Misha is terrified of the emergency clinic.  She went last May for a severe allergic reaction to a spider bite.  They got her muzzled and were able to give her the necessary shots.  But, when they turned on the razor to shave the area so they could clean it up, she freaked out.

She had not forgotten.

They first tried to work with her but she wasn’t participating.  I was brought in to weigh her.  I was able to do that with no problem.  I handed her over, but they couldn’t get her to calm down.

They tried to muzzle her, then I tried to muzzle her.  No go.

The Veterinarian came in and decided that before x-rays they would induce vomiting to see if we got lucky.  The inducer had an mild opiate in it which would calm Misha for the x-rays.

Misha got the inducer and then a plate of food.  She never has canned food.  She didn’t know what to do with it.  She would put some in her mouth, swish it around, then spit it out.  She finally decided that it was food and it was okay to eat.

Then she went through about 20 minutes of vomiting, poor thing!  And…no hook.  So, they did x-rays to be sure.  She was much calmer at this point and they were able to x-ray her just fine.  The hook did not appear on the x-rays.  Because we took her to the clinic so quickly, the Veterinarian was pretty sure she didn’t swallow a hook.

We took her home, where she turned into a wild banshee.  And, then she fell asleep.

The next day she was pretty dopey.  Around noon she picked up something behind the couch.  I chased her down.  What ever it was, she didn’t like it because she kept spitting it out.  Eventually she dropped it and abandoned it and I picked it up.  It was an ornament hook!  Not again!  We then felt the entire carpet to ensure that nothing else was lurking in the fibers.

As were down on our hands and knees, the thought occurred to me that no one had been behind the couch.  How did the hook get there?  It must have been the hook she picked up the night before!  She dropped it behind the couch before I caught her.

We were so fortunate.  We dodged the bullet twice in 24 hours.  I can tell you that when we take the tree down, she’ll be crated with a padlock for security!

The puppy got antsy, but his owner was able to keep him in check.  My dog, on the other hand, wanted to roll over and check this dog out.  I wouldn’t let her because I’m not sure if the puppy is fully vaccinated.

I had a nice conversation with the neighbor.  Sierra kept a watchful and was on tiptoes, prancing around.  The puppy went inside and then we continued on our way.

I’m sure we will have other encounters like this.  I’m not all that comfortable about it, but it’s really unavoidable.  I just hope the other people have control of their dogs.

It’s not so easy rushing a dog in a wheelchair.  I tried to do it as gently as possible.  We made it to the yard before the other dogs got to our property.

Sierra was getting a little too worked up over it.  I wish the people had crossed the street.  If I had seen another dog getting this huffing, I would have changed sides of the street out of courtesy.