By Steven Mihailovich, Rob Vardon / Pt Loma OB Monthly / Aug. 4, 2022
In response to an Ocean Beach resident’s complaints about leashed and unleashed dogs running around beaches during prohibited hours, a San Diego city representative said officials would be asking the San Diego Humane Society — the city’s contractor for animal-control enforcement — about its practices and possibly “kicking them in the butt” if it’s not issuing enough citations.
Resident Edward Elliott said during the July meeting of the Ocean Beach Town Council that he was bitten twice while jogging on the beach over the past year, once requiring medical attention. He said he had counted 20 dogs on the beach between 9 a.m. and 6 p.m. over a seven-day period and now takes his camera while jogging to record infractions.
In general, dogs on leashes are allowed on beaches and on sidewalks and park areas near the beach from 6 p.m. until 9 a.m. the next day between April 1 and Oct. 31 and from 4 p.m. to 9 a.m. between Nov. 1 and March 31, according to the San Diego Parks & Recreation Department. Ocean Beach’s Dog Beach is an exception to the restrictions.
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Obviously, the dog photo has nothing to do with the article, but at least it’s a tasteful pic of a butt, a dog’s.
I’ve been a runner for 42 years living in OB and have encountered many dogs and was never bitten or even threatened once. How this guy managed to get bitten twice in a short time is a mystery to me.
Enforcement of dogs being on the beach between 9:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m. or 4:00 p.m. is the responsibility of the lifeguards not the Humane Society. I’m not sure what is happening with the lifeguards but I’ve seen them pay no attention to people taking dogs on the south side of the Dog Beach jetty. Talk to the lifeguards.
I love that our community tolerates off-leash dogs as much as we do. Some people abuse it and ruin it for everybody. I saw a women at collier park let her off-leash dog dig for a few minutes until I finally informed her that this was not a dog park. Bill Cleater has sports fields that kids play on. I’m sure more than a few kids have slipped on some turds back there.
I got bit on Abbott getting off my bike. Border Collie took a chunk out of me. Ruined my clothes. I honestly think dogs are overestimated near the beach and just get excited. I’ve seen people get bit a few times in OB and really nowhere else. It’s odd for sure but it seems to happen a lot there.
Having ridden a skate for over 60 years this summer I can definitely say there are dogs that just absolutely hate skateboards and will try to bite the wheels. Something we can’t hear drives them nuts and it used to be worse rolling on open-bearing clay wheels. I think maybe a high pitch bearing sound or something? But even modern sealed bearings and urethane wheels still can get one dang upset now and then.
Same with bicycles occasionally and they seem to go for the pedal/ankle when they chase ya. Delivering papers in MB when I was 13 I bumped into a lot of dogs and never got bit…
Saw a few over the years at Dog Beach of course, but mostly dogs really are pack animals and the arguments were about pecking order! Humans play the same game…
Worse dog attack was never around any beach area I’ve lived in. It was early one morning walking to a friend’s house in Mt. Shasta and a big Rottie came around a parked car and clamped my left arm. Not a sound, didn’t hear it coming before it hit me but I did get my arm up; unconscious defensive move.
And this was on a direct well-used Sisson School route that my stepkids and neighbor’s kids walked every morning. Not good at all but the kids weren’t out yet.
It wasn’t Eugene’s dog but a friend from down south that spent the night and let the dog out in unfamiliar sounds and smells without thinking about it. He had no idea it was a school walking zone.
I’ve always been a dog person. They tend to know that somehow and rarely have I had trouble with a dog who doesn’t know me. I give really good in-the-ear rubs, too, which helps no doubt.
sealintheSelkirks
We lost one of my favorite dogs of all time almost two years ago. She was a wheel dog and hated skateboards. She went after baby carriage wheels, only once a motorcycle but she was leashed both times. We learned we had to keep her leashed under certain circumstances. She was fine at the beach and Sunset Cliffs Park off leash. Well behaved and very smart.
But this leash thing has been carried to ridiculous extremes. We got a ticket about 5:30 in the evening at Cleator Park. We were the only people in the whole park. We were walking along the far side by the tree line and a Humane Society enforcer came all the way across the field to nab us with our two dogs walking within 10 feet of us. That poisoned me on the Humane Society. This gestapo enforcement makes no sense.
While it may not make sense to you, it makes sense to a lot of other people who respect the leash law. At the very least a leashed dog won’t crap all over the place, or chase wildlife, or bite somebody. A leashed dog is a dog that’s under supervision of its owner.
Funny story: One day I was walking my dog on the La. Playa trail, on-leash. A woman who was walking her sheltie off-lease asked if my dog was dangerous. I told her that all dogs should be considered dangerous that are off-leash. Hoooo boy she hit the ceiling! It was very comical, my dog was sitting there well behaved, while her dog was getting all excited because she was getting all excited. She a true dog Karen.
Keeping your dog leashed no only is the law but you’re respecting other users of the park or trail.
A well behaved dog off leash will not “crap all over the place, or chase wildlife, or bite somebody.” That kind of generality is ridiculous. So is “all dogs should be considered dangerous that are off-leash.” Do you even own a dog?
They gotta pay for those shiny SUVs and Body Armor somehow…
The only thing that distinguishes those SUVs from PD SUVs is the color. Those SUVs are very expensive.