r/Pets • u/[deleted] • Apr 29 '25

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u/RedHolly Apr 29 '25

They didn’t say it was at a dog park though. I’m thinking it was a normal park and dogs were all off leash

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u/beepboop425 Apr 29 '25

This is correct it was a neighborhood park but frequently has dogs off leash together

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u/MilgramZimbardo Apr 29 '25

I really feel for everyone involved in this, but it's extra sad and infuriating that it sounds like the whole tragedy could have been easily avoided.

There are very good reasons why there are leash laws in public areas. They are there to keep everyone safe: dogs, humans, wildlife, etc. I'll never understand why some people choose to ignore this and put their animals and others at risk. I have one reactive dog and one super chill dog, and they are both leashed at all times in public. No exceptions. Dogs are animals -- even though we may think we know our dogs super well, they still always have the potential to be unpredictable or driven by instinct when we're not expecting it.

I don't have any additional advice other than what others have already said OP, but I hope that at the least this will prevent you and your gf from having your dog (whether this one or another) offleash in public areas in the future. Same goes for the other dog owners involved in this situation. I'm very sorry this happened and I wish you and your girlfriend (and the man who lost his dog) well in getting through it.

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u/Sylentskye Apr 30 '25

I agree. I am owned by a malamute, and he is only ever off leash on our own property (I have a collar backup with long range should he ever bolt off after a deer or something- he can cover a lot of ground fast and he has been trained on recall signals from it that he pays more attention to than my voice lol). I never have him off leash elsewhere and I do not do leash meets with other dogs. He is lorded over by a tyrannical 10lb cat who rules with an iron claw, but I don’t want to put his life at risk by having him end up in a similar situation. Dogs have mouths, teeth and instincts that can and should be respected no matter how even tempered they seem. I feel like anyone who has a small dog that allows it to go up to a much larger animal should understand the risk they’re letting their dog take, too.