Originally Posted by miatri

(hi kids, i've just written this and sent it off to our local paper, i'm sorta grinning cause on this island letters like this can create a ruckus, but jeeeez, i'm running out of limbs that work and this dog issue is truly risky! think u all will totally understand and maybe some will relate and definately appreciate how i titled it, lol.)

Last week as I was walking I had an ankle give way, heard a noise, felt sensations, sucked the air out of my lungs and knew it was going to be a challenge to manage the 2kms to get home. While my body went into shock, sweating turning to chills, nausea threatening to empty my stomach, vision dimming and my Malamute tethered to me, I cautiously focused on making it home.

It was VERY challenging not to pass out and took an enormous amount of focused breathing to stay upright. A few yards from my driveway an unleashed dog appeared and began immediately to approach us with its lip curled and teeth barred, growling. Its human was a female riding a bike some distance away. All I could manage to say was ‘NO, no, no, no’ over and over, as I tried to calm my LEASHED senior dog who wanted nothing more than to protect me.

The woman did not get off her bike, did not stop peddling, did not say a single word to me. She did call the dog, a few times, which her dog ignored and continued to aggress at us. She had no leash and clearly no intention of getting off her bike to control her dog.

I have a serious life threatening illness, the ankle bones popping out of place is part of a whole body deterioration. This encounter is not the first time I’ve wondered why people think its ok to let their dogs run off leash when they absolutely KNOW they don’t have 100% recall. It doesn’t matter how ‘friendly’ you think your dog is, when its not under control it is an obstacle for some of us to overcome and it presents an unnecessary potential threat to life and limb.

I’m a peace seeking gal, not looking for upset or anything ugly or aggressive, just doing the very best I can to maintain a quality of life that keeps me independent and away from our toxic medical system. I don’t go around talking about my health challenges, I deal with it as gracefully and privately as I can. So I’m wondering if this woman and the many, many other dog owners here would actually have some compassion and consider that there are larger potential dangers with allowing their dogs to roam unchecked. Or should I start wearing a sign that identifies me as a cripple who brakes easily? But that would only work if off leash dogs had owners close to hand, which they typically don’t…a conundrum…

Sincerely kath