Item: Leashless dogs can fetch fines: As more pets are brought to parks, officials want people to know the rules/Elida Perez, Spokesman-Review

Owners who allow their dogs to run free in a public park or street, on Tubbs Hill, on the Centennial Trail, etc., are high on my list of annoyances. They seem to think the sun rises and sets on their mutts. They don't understand it when others don't and get irritated if someone points to signs that say "no dogs allowed" or "only dogs on leashes allowed." I rarely see such owners pick up their dog's crap, leaving it like a tiny land mind for someone to step in. Mebbe I'm hypersensitive to dogs running loose because I was bitten by a Rottweiler while walking my dog on a public sidewalk a coupla years ago. I also was buzzed by two pitbulls near the Assembly of God church on 7th several weeks ago. I wished I had $10 for every time an owner said to me after a close encounter with his/her pet: Spot has never done that before. I applaud the local gendarmes for saying they're going to crack down on dogs running loose in public places. Now, they need to follow through so clueless dog owners finally get the message.

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