A Message to Dog Owners: Why It's Ludicrously Dangerous to Not Use a Leash

Imagine you are on a walk, minding your own business. Tunes are blasting from your phone, and everything's fine. Suddenly a dog comes straight out of nowhere. It barks loudly, comes charging toward you, and then proceeds to try and take a piece of your leg.

Now this may not be every dog that lives in a city suburb, yet incidentally, this situation once happened to me a few years ago. Luckily, I was able to get away from the mutt who appeared to want to have my leg as its new chew toy, but ever since, I was a little more wary of walking in that part of the block. But thankfully, there have been no other incidents where the dogs in my neighborhood were out to get me.

Yet the problem with a few suburban dogs roaming free without leashes is still an issue I have to deal with from time to time. Granted, these encounters are few and a tad far between, and I tend to be more aware of the situation whenever it does happen. A couple of these dogs even appeared friendly part of the time. But I still get apprehensive, especially considering I don't know the dog very well.

Recently there was a dog I encountered on one of my daily walks. It was sniffing around someone's premises, and it didn't appear to have a collar or a leash. If I didn't know any better, I could have assumed the dog was a stray on the loose. It noticed me and started growling and barking. It slowly moved toward me, and immediately, I was expecting the worst. Then a kid came and led the old dog---named Peanut---away from the front yard, avoiding a nasty confrontation.

Again, it was a reminder of what could become a big problem. Being more aware of my surroundings when I'm walking is one thing, it's another issue if some poor kid gets attacked by a hyperactive, unrestrained dog.

And it always leaves me asking, "why are these dogs not on leashes?"

I suppose someone could make the argument that having the dog off the leash gives the pooch a chance to connect with its ancestors, the wolf.

It's cool to see that one scene in Balto where the title character howls with the white wolf; in fact, it's cool to see a dog interact with a wolf. However, we don't live in a cartoon world. There are quite a few issues I have with that argument.

First of all, if you are so dedicated to letting your dog let out its inner wolf, then why are you living in an area close to a city? And for that matter, why is the dog living in the same house as you? I'm pretty sure most wild wolves wouldn't want to hang around people.

Second, are you implying dogs go through mid-life crises like humans do? As hilarious as it would be to see a dog riding a convertible while wearing a black leather jacket and sunglasses to relive the 'glory days,' lest we forget that dogs are dogs. They're most likely caring about how much food they're getting as opposed to how cool they would be when letting their inner wolf shine.

Third, are you not aware that you aren't the only person living in this neighborhood? There are families, other dogs, and other single people living here that aren't you. They have lives, and there's a good chance they don't want to deal with the drama of handling whatever shenanigans your 'wild' dog gets into. Furthermore, there's a possibility of young children who might get hurt if they come across your dog roaming free. Unless there's proper training, there could be some serious consequences for you as well as for your dog.

Last, but certainly not least, if all the reasons I mentioned before doesn't strike a chord with you, how about the chance of your dog getting hit by a car? Yeah, perhaps it didn't come to your mind right away. You wouldn't want Fido to get hurt in any way, would you? You love your precious pooch no matter what, right? Now here's a thought: would that sort of future not be made more inevitable if that dog isn't on a leash and could very easily wander to the middle of the road?

I can't stress this enough. Dog owners and future dog owners, if you would like to believe that your pets are meant to live as nature intended before mankind took over, I understand (though not too much), but I implore you: please keep your dog on a leash or at the very least get your house some fencing.

If it's not for the sake of human decency, then it should at least be for the dog's safety. Because here's the thing: if nothing happens, then your dog is in for some serious trouble in more ways than one, and that is something that no one wants to deal with.