Reader’s View: Walking your dog shouldn’t be like running the gauntlet

My dog recently was attacked for the third time in less than two years while I was leash-walking him around Dowling and Amnicon Lakes south of Superior. The attack resulted in a deep laceration and punctures that required emergency veterinary treatment — a routine that has become all too familiar.

These attacks weren’t perpetrated by wolves or roving wild dogs. The injuries were from pets the owners thought were under their control.

The first attacker was a dog in a yard with the homeowner. Her presence did not keep her dog confined to the yard; he was not under her control.

The next attack came from a huge dog that was tied out on a clothesline cable. The flimsy restraint snapped when the lunging dog hit the end of the skinny line. It took two of my walking companions plus a resident of the home to pull the mauling dog off my pet.

Most recently, the attackers were two large-breed dogs a woman led on leashes. Two big dogs can easily out-pull one person. The woman was dragged to the pavement and injured as her two dogs lunged away from her and went after my dog.

Many pet owners don’t realize they have a potentially deadly weapon at the end of the leash or on the tie-out in their yard. As a longtime emergency veterinarian (now retired), I’ve treated countless dog bite injuries and some of the wounds proved fatal. When dogs bite, they rip and tear skin, crush muscles and puncture organs. The bite wounds my dog suffered were deep enough that they could have been deadly in a smaller animal.

I am concerned it may take the fatality of a pet or child for residents to wake up to the danger of dog bites. As families head to their lakeside cabins, and more short-term rentals open, there is increasing pedestrian traffic around Amnicon and Dowling Lakes and more chance for injury.

A child riding her bike, a toddler being pushed in a stroller, or a person taking his dog on a stroll around the lake don’t expect to be regarded as prey and vulnerable to attack. Based on my experience, they should be on guard.

Fortunately, my dog will recover from his injuries. He’s still his happy exuberant self, but I am not. Our daily exercise route with beautiful views, few cars and a slow speed limit is too dangerous for me to risk another needless injury to my dog.

Dr. Louise M. Beyea
Superior

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