by Lynne Miller
Love dogs, or don’t, tolerate dogs or don’t? ‘Dog Love’ ranges from strongly dislike, through tolerate, to love dogs more than people. You know where you mark your territory on this doggy scale.
I love dogs, some more than people. Having lived in OB my entire life I have watched dogs run free, unleashed, in the 40s and 50s, to today’s walks on tight leashes based on new laws. Still, Ocean Beach is dog-friendly partly because of local activism. Dogs and their humans have Dog Beach, a Dog Park, and not far away, Fiesta Island Dog Park. There are also many schoolyards that allow responsible owners to bring their dogs to play on the dirt and grass.
Things are about to change again. Every time the city gets involved in our lives you can almost guarantee new restrictions are being seeded–new laws that, if disobeyed, will place you in the doghouse!
Here is the latest bite into your dog’s freedom, and yours. Around the city of San Diego we will begin to see signs posted in schoolyards. While the wording is unknown, the intent has been stated. Bring your kids to school, and don’t bring your dogs to run on the turf after hours. If you disobey there are threats of tickets or perhaps a visit to doggy jail.
I understand that we cannot return to the life and style of the 1950s where dogs ran free to chase butterflies and birds. But I can remember the way it was.
When I was attending OB Elementary there was a Newport restaurant called Zekes. The Greens owned Zekes and the connected antique store. On my way home from a day at the beach I bought my 25-cent Hershey bar at Zekes or Paras Shop. The Greens lived close to us in the hills of Ocean Beach, and their pug dog was free to roam when they were at work. Pug, as we called him, began visiting our home daily, and the Green’s gave him to us.
In the 50s there were a whole lot of vacant lots where dogs roamed and kids played on their stick horses. It was a carefree time to grow up. Our Summer beach days were filled with body and board surfing, and laying in the hot sand until we jumped into the cold waves.
Word got out about this little beach town and it grew. More people, more cars, more dogs and cats, more rules. “More” is the condition of growth, and results, while possibly well-intended, add conditions, regulations, and laws, that bite by bite erode our freedoms.
What do we do? What we always do. We find creative ways to circumvent the new restrictions. I did not say break the laws, even though I know we all do break laws, daily, choice by choice. Texting while driving is against the law. Walking dogs off-leash is against the law. Keeping Christmas lights up after Feb 2nd is against the law in San Diego. In San Jose it is illegal to have two dogs or two cats. (Does that mean a person can house 4 cats and dogs?)
A broader question, that is good to ask of almost every new law and or enforcement. Who created the law, why, and for whom? I wonder who created the law that said it is illegal for a woman to drive a car in her housecoat? That is a San Diego law.
Good luck to dog owners. I know you sometimes avoid dog parks and beaches because owners who are not responsible bring their aggressive dogs to ‘play’ and you and your dog need to visit a vet. I also understand that irresponsible owners take their dogs to play at an elementary school and the kid who slides into second base is ‘safe’ except for her smelly hands.
So here’s to all you dog owners — and the creative solutions you employ to maximize freedom and minimize reasons to close the gates in schoolyards.
I’ve had dogs my entire life. I love dogs. I currently have two dogs and they mean everything to me. With all that being said, I have zero problems with not allowing dogs to roam freely in school fields, parks, etc. I’ve seen way too many instances of people not cleaning up after their dogs, whether it be intentional or them just not paying attention. In either case that is completely unfair to the people that use these spaces.
I agree completely. I am a dog lover. The majority of dog owners are very responsible but too many are not and it only takes a few piles of crap to ruin it for others. I hate to see restrictions but I understand why.
Dog owners who are not responsible also “bring their aggressive dogs to play” in parks and ball fields that prohibit dogs being off leash. As a result, I have had to spend thousands of dollars on vet bills over the years when my leashed dogs have been attacked. It is beyond selfish for people to let their dogs who have poor recall and are not adequately trained to run free in areas that do not allow dogs to be off leash.
If your dog was in an area that requires a leach and you dog is injured by an off leash dog, you have legal recourse for those vet bills. If the dogs are in an off-leash area, such as Dog Beach, the law does not require a person to pay damages if their dog injures another. If a dog is leashed at a leash-free park, that responsibility does not hold, each person is responsible for their own dog.
Well, you can only seek legal recourse if the owners stick around, which they don’t.
20 years ago, I lived in Denver where people brought their dogs to a nearby middle school to roam around after leash. Things were great until the snow melted and all the dog poop that people didn’t clean up manifested itself. Signs went up right after that.
And damn right people should leash their dogs. There’s a power imbalance if I’m walking a dog on leash and an off leash dog runs at her. There will be a fight.
And I’ve been bitten, unprovoked, by an off leash dog that ran at me from 25 feet away just to give me a bite.
I’m sure all this happened in the 1950s but people didn’t talk about it.
Leaving Christmas lights up beyond Feb 2 and driving while wearing a housecoat? How do you find these gems, Lynne? I believe I’m guilty on both accounts, although one did not happen in San Diego!
Rules are Rules as any fool can see Chris Christopherson
Who ever imagined that a majority liberal/progressive city council would be so controlling and anti-freedom?
The problem when you get any legislative body with a super-majority is that they lose their respect for the opinions on the other side of the aisle and then become little dictators.
Vote carefully, get to know your candidates.
We cannot wait for the next round of elections.
I also love and own dogs. But it is a public health issue; do you want your young kids playing or eating where dogs have peed and pooped? San Diego has 24 off-leash dog parks (www.bringfido.com). I am shocked they have gotten away with these “mixed-use” spaces for so long given the health implications. Many parents don’t realize what goes on in the early mornings or evenings before or after their kids arrive to school. Dana Middle School is a perfect example- they are an elementary school and host many baseball leagues on the fields. Yet after hours it’s a free for all of off-leash dogs, even though signs on the fences say dogs must be leashed. This is one more rule/law they will “make” but won’t actually enforce. City officials, including the Humane Society, claim they do not have the funding to patrol and enforce laws related to animals, including off-leash dogs and picking up poop.
While I do agree with most of what you said, I did want to comment on one thing. The practice of picking up dog crap is relatively young. No one was doing this in the fifties and sixties when I was a kid and I don’t recall ever hearing about any serious health issues that resulted from stepping in crap. Anyone who has different memories, please speak up.
About 40 years ago, there was a big meeting in the Masonic Lodge because there was talk of doing away with Dog Beach. I had an epiphany that night when one guy got up and did a mini-rant. He yelled “We dog owners have to clean up after our dogs!” “It’s easy!” He raised his hand slammed a plastic grocery bag over that hand, swooped to the floor, came up tying the bag. I’m ashamed to say that up to then, picking up never occurred to me, and many others. Been doing it ever since.
It is a shame that a hand full of selfish, distracted idiots is ruining it for many others.
If the current law reguarding dogs must be on leash isn’t being enforced, do you really think a new law will be?
This is from the New Coastal Master Plan, close to approval:
“Another optional component of the concept would be to provide an express shuttle that runs from an appropriate transportation center (e.g., Old Town Transit Center) to the Ocean Beach –Dog Beach project site. To support this transit service, a shuttle stop would be provided within the parking lot at the Ocean Beach – Dog Beach project site or along an adjacent street. This express shuttle could improve access to the beach and associated recreational facilities and could reduce parking lot congestion and vehicle trips to the project site.” I WANT A SEAT ON THIS SHUTTLE. SINCE RULES must be CREATED, WILL DOGGIES HAVE SPECIAL SEATS WITH SPECIAL BELTS? WILL HUMANS HAVE TO GIVE THEIR SEATS TO DOGS? WILL DOGS BE ALLOWED TO BARK ON THE BUS, OR BITE? WILL ALL THOSE DOGS ON ONE BUS REQUIRE A DOGGIE BATHROOM. WILL THERE BE
A DOG CONTROL PERSON ON BOARD TO MANAGE THE PACK OF DOGS, AND GIVE OUT TICKETS FOR BAD BEHAVIOR? More likely, dogs will not be allowed on the bus at all, so Dog Beach will be overrun by humans, who come to the beach with leash, sunscreen, and no dogs!