For starters, this tragic and disturbing incident happened in Florida – and I know, I know… OutThere COLORADO. That said, lessons learned from this situation translate to the Colorado landscape and coverage of it might save the life of a local pet, thus we’re covering it.
One of the top posts in the r/camping Reddit thread in recent days is a request from a Redditor asking campers to “please secure your dog” – for good reason.
The post was made by someone who says they’re a park ranger at a popular outdoor recreation destination in Florida, and the details of their post are heartbreaking.
According to the poster, they had an encounter with some campers in recent days related to their small eldery dog wandering the area while off-leash. The park ranger told the campers that their dog should be leashed, also noting the many issues that have occurred in the area related to off-leash dogs in recent months.
While many off-leash dogs can be well-behaved, these pups can tend to get attacked by other dogs after moseying into another campsite. Additionally, off-leash dogs can leave waste along the way of their wandering, making it difficult for owner’s to keep a clean space for those who come behind. On top of that, some off-leash dogs have a tendency to harass and kill native wildlife, with this act often carrying legal consequences for an owner who allows this to happen.
Despite the ranger’s warning to the owners of the small elderly dog, the campers are said to have kept the dog off-leash during their stay. Sure enough, it left their campsite and became lost.
After two days of “frantic” searching, the owners had to leave without their pup, according to the Reddit post. Rangers let the campers know they’d contact them with any news related to the pup, with the owners reportedly proceeding to call several times a day to check in.
Tragically, the park ranger reports that the dog was eventually found – in the mouth of an 8-foot-long alligator.
“Even if your Good Boy is the best good boy, even if you’re camping remote, please follow all leash rules. And even if dogs are allowed off-leash, it’s still a damn good idea,” reads the closing line of the post from Redditor LXIX-CDXX.
Obviously, this is a heartbreaking situation with a decision made by an elderly dog’s owners resulting in its death at the hand of a local predator – and the same thing can happen in Colorado, too.
In Colorado, there are many reasons to keep a dog leashed while at a campsite. If a dog wanders off, it may encounter the deadly hooves of a moose, get snatched up by a mountain lion, or suffer an attack from coyotes. Terrain hazards, like cliffs and flowing water, are also present in the Centennial State, capable of posing serious risks for an off-leash pup. Even with warnings about this risk, the OutThere Colorado team will likely cover several very preventable dog deaths in the upcoming summer months – they happen every single year.
While a dog might enjoy being off-leash, even well-behaved animals can fall victim to the hazards of nature. Keep those pups leashed and under a watchful eye when camping in Colorado. If you want to give a pup a little more room to roam at a campsite while also keeping it safe, utilize a longer lead that’s fastened to a ground stake in a central location where the pet can be observed.
Condolences go out to these owners for the loss of their pet.
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