We went for a walk on the beach this morning--along with a LOT of other people. As you may or may not know--Sanibel has a leash law. Every (or at least I thought every) dog must be on a leash at all times. So we are walking along and come upon a woman giving her black lab a drink of water. I noticed that it wasn't on a leash but I didn't say anything. So, the woman and her dog are following us. The dog is running all over creation. Running in the water. Running up to people. Running all over the beach. But I didn't say anything.
About a mile down the beach, there is an area taped off for a Snowy Plover nest. Sanibel has the only significant breeding Snowy Plover population in SW Florida.
We walked up to the taped off area where I took a picture of the sign. We looked and looked for the nest but they are very hard to find. Didn't find it. So we continued our walk on down the beach.
When I turned back to look for the dog again, there he was running through the taped off area!!! The woman yelled at him and he ran back to her.
We walked a bit farther down the beach then turned around to head back to the car. As we were heading back, some little kids were petting the dog and the woman was talking to them. I got up the nerve and told her that the dog should really be on a leash. She said that she knew this but he was a police dog in training and needed to run. When I mentioned that he had run through the Snowy Plover area, she said she didn't know why he did that--he never bothered the birds before. (Well I guess there is always a first time, huh?) I also nicely told her that she shouldn't let the beach patrol catch her without the dog on a leash. She very nicely responded that she knew the beach patrol person and that it was ok.
Soooooo--I guess the leash law doesn't apply to everyone--especially "police dogs in training." And---should a "police dog in training" be allowed to be so friendly with people? I know nothing about training police dogs but it would seem to me that you wouldn't want them all that friendly.
On the way back past the Snowy Plover area, we saw a couple of the birds out on the beach. I don't know whether these were the parents who got scared off the nest by the "police dog in training" or whether they were chicks. 
I do know, though, that apparently leash laws don't apply to everyone!
Wednesday, April 07, 2010
So--The Leash Law Doesn't Apply to Everyone????? RANT
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8 comments:
Why do some people think they are so special? If indeed, it was a police dog, in training, that was NOT the proper place for said training! Good for you for saying something!!!
Good for you for speaking up. These confrontations can be somewhat intimidating as we never know the mindset of the person we're confronting. Nice to know that she's one of the special people.
Are labs really used for police work? They're the kind of dogs who would hold the flashlight for the burglars!
The world is full of people who think they are above the law. I've had dogs come into my yard, tear down fences and kill chickens. The dogs owners blamed me for having chickens. The mentality of some scares me. I hope the birds were alright.
Gayle, the birds looked ok and I'm not sure the dog scared them out of the nest. But it just infuriates me that if I got caught with a dog off a leash (or if anyone else did for that matter) they would be paying a hefty fine!
I'm so glad that you wrote this post! This subject somes up frequently on the Sanibel and Captiva Trip Advisor forum. Do you know that dogs aren't allowed on Captiva beaches at all? Captiva is governed by Lee County, so they have to adhere to Lee County Beach Rules. Anytime this comes up on the Captiva forum and I simply state the law, you would not believe the amount of grief I get! We have a business owner on Captiva who writes that he takes his unleased dog onto the beach every day, thus encouraging vacationers to do the same.
Good for you for saying something to her.
there is always someone who thinks the rules are not for them.
Good for you for speaking up! I would have gone home and called the police and reported her on top of it. The only thing worse than that is people who don't clean up after their dogs. I hate that!!
Yeah, my phone would have been in my hand so fast, her head woulda spun. I would have taken pictures and sent them to the police with my coordinates (very easy to do with GPS these days). Let's see her talk her way outta that. Police dog, my left butt cheek - I think she was BS-ing you, Sno.
Tink *~*~*
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