Gentle Readers, A few months ago frequent contributor Tony Grant wrote a lovely post about Richmond Park. Recently, a man walking his dog lost control of his animal, who was not on his lead. The result could have been catastrophic. Tony writes that the authorities are taking this incident seriously and may prosecute.
I walk my dog Cody along the river almost daily. We live in the city, and sometimes the paths are crowded with cyclists, joggers, children and babies pushed in carriages, yet it amazes me that so many people choose to walk their dogs without a leash. Many of them, often quite large, run up to Cody, who is restrained. An unequal situation, to say the least.
Click on image.
I had 2 of the most good-natured and friendly dogs ever, and never walked them off leash. Even when I took them to the beach to swim, the only time I let them off leash was actually in the water (they were too busy splashing around to notice anything else!). So often people forget that restraint not only protects others, it also protects your own dog. I hope Benton was safely recovered and that his owner learns from this! (Not to mention the drivers on the road who stopped in time-what a shock!)
Even the most calm dog can get excited and chase deer – and run away. The Shi Tzu that we dog sit for, Puccini, was off the leash for a few minutes on route to the car from hiking in the woods. He scented a deer nearby and took off, Luckily we could hear him barking. He was barking and trying to bully a buck with a huge set of antlers! Puccini wouldn’t leave and the buck seemed to be enjoying having a little fluff ball bark at him. He didn’t charge but once in a while playfully lowered his head. Finally after twenty minutes our calling Puccini worked. He must have felt like Superman.
This is amazing to me that people still get away with unleashed dogs off of private property. I hope that the authorities do look at this seriously and do something about it other than just “look”. Animals and people could have lost their lives and property damaged. This man was a fool.
I apologize for my harsh words, but stupid always makes me angry.
This video has spawned an array of spoofs which can be seen at:
Love this, Chris! Thanks.
Oh, spilled my tea funny. :,D
I’ve never seen the original (or the spoof) before, so I wondered what Jesus was doing in the park, anyway.
And yes, dangerous, I suppose. I’ve had the same thing happen with stampeding cattle by a highway, but I’m pretty sure I wasn’t yelling, “Bessie! Bessie! BessIE!”
Good times.
Hi Chris. So I can cross you off my list as a suspect? It’s not you and your dog I take it?
By the way Chris, how about the two of us getting together for a pint in Richmond one evening to celebrate Christmas? We could sort out how Richmond can beat the recession. I see you are a member of the Liberal Party.
All the best,
Tony
I am a huge Austen admirer ever since I was a teenager…Mister Darcy’s ghost haunted all my young girl’s dreams :).
I must admit to finding the Brits very funny with their dog paranoias as well as the old rabies phobias. I was a kid in England in the 40s and 50s and our dogs were hardly ever on leash. I doubt if we had one some of the time. One dog used to follow us on our bikes all up and down the country lanes with never a crisis that the people here are fretting about.
I suppose in a city, where all the poor drivers congregate, and the overcrowding is severe I would have succumbed to caution and tied a rope to the dog’s collar.
Now, here in Canada, our dogs are only leashed through the community (because we have a few dog-phobics here as well) but once among the fields they run loose. They are very good bear dogs, have fought three coyotes, and are very cautious about the wolves when they are around. They are very bad at deer chasing, but we have too many in this area anyway. Their chasing serves to keep them away from the community. I’d suggest this is called the ‘real world’.
Here are two links to stories about Fenton (not Benton), the first has images about this handsome dog, who went “mental.”:
Here’s a story about him in the Telegraph.UK and the 13 year old who took the initial video:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/family/pets/8908664/Benton-the-dog-is-called-Fenton-as-video-viewed-by-500000.html
Thanks Tony, this made me giggle…both versions.
Thank you Dear Fenton for reminding us that you are a most beloved dog simply because you are You! A dog! A Dog (and this goes ditto for my cats too…) is sometimes enthusiastic, unpredictable, and adorable. Is that not why we love to read the novels of Jane Austin? Thank goodness that there was no damage, but at the end of a good Austin read, is not that always the case?
I’ve had basenjis for forty years, although I no longer breed them. Back in the old days of the restrictive quarantine laws, I thought it was absolutely ridiculous because what could they do about rabid bats that are far more likely to carry rabies than show dogs, which is the ones who are mostly imported.
I never let my basenjis off lead. They are sighthounds and will chanse anything, any size and have no “street smarts” at all and far too often loose basenjis are traffic victims.
I live where there are coyotes and bobcats, another reason to keep my dogs confined.
I thought he kept calling the dog Satan! It made it even funnier then.
How about this story of two military gentleman walking their dogs in Hyde Park in 1803:
http://thegentlemanangler.com/historic-tales/fatal-duel-between-dog-owners-april-1803/1049/