When stray dogs interrupt your daily walks

By Andrew Coakley

Is it just me, or does stray dogs sort of hampers your daily walking exercise?

I used to think

maybe I was the only one who had a problem with stray dogs during my early morning walks, until I spoke with some people who have been walking every morning much longer than I have.

Now, I understand why many walkers carry those big pieces of stick or even huge pieces of tree limbs; they are used to fight off any possible attacks from stray dogs they might come across on their walking routes.

As someone who is new to this “walking” thing, I have to admit that the fear of stray dogs attacking me has left me hesitant about continuing the daily routine.

I really began walking when the Covid-19 pandemic shut down every gym in the country. That means I missed weeks of weight lifting and considerable amount of time on the treadmill. So when we were allowed to go out in the mornings to walk within our neighborhoods, I reluctantly took up the challenge.

May I just say that walking within your neighborhood sounds like a good idea, but depending on where you live, it can be like walking a landmine field. With most of the homes where I live not completely fenced in, those with dogs leave their animals to roam freely, which means a walk through the neighborhood can quickly turn into a run for your life.

Needless to say, that idea of walking around the neighborhood did not work for me.

It was not until we gained a little more freedom, as some restrictions were lifted, (the gyms were still closed) I began to take my walk out of my neighborhood and down a few blocks. But once outside of my immediate neighborhood and out onto the streets, even there stray dogs seemingly hung out in abundance. Only the experienced walkers were prepared to defend themselves against any threats from these rabid nuisances.

It did not take me long to adapt. I found myself a nice little “weapon”, which was really a piece of mop stick. It has worked like a charm whenever stray dogs got the idea to attack me during my walks.

Before I get the “stink eye” from dog lovers, I use the stick only to defend myself. I love dogs, and would not intentionally attack a dog, but I also love my life and would quickly defend myself from the attack of a dog.

As for you “dog lovers”, if you are a dog owner, your yard should be properly fenced in, where your dog can roam freely, and not be a danger to anyone else. I have a serious problem with people who own dogs and who refuse to fence in their yards. I hate to see dogs tied or chained to a tree or to a spike. Dogs should be able to roam freely in their own yards, but that yard has to be fenced in.

Too many people think that a pet dog is cute; but that’s until taking care of that “pet” becomes a bother and the dog is left to roam the streets uncared for and it unfortunately becomes a menace to society. Even those people who take their dogs to the beach, those dogs are supposed to be on a leash and not left to roam freely.

One guy who had a Doberman Pincher on the beach looked at me as if I was “odd one” when I began to cut a path through the bushes after I saw his dog headed my way while I was trying to do a power walk in the sand.

“Hey, he won’t bite,” the guy called out to me, as I pushed back tree limbs and prickled branches in an effort to get back to my car and away from the dog.

That is another thing I hate to see. Dogs should not be allowed to roam freely on beaches where there are people trying to enjoy the beach. I don’t care how “friendly” that dog may be to the owner. To me, it’s a loosed animal, which can become out of control at any time. I see people with Pit bulls, Rottweiler’s and German Shepherds off of their leashes on a regular basis and it is terrifying for lots of people.

The truth is there are people who are terrified of dogs, even of small toy dogs. These people’s fears must be considered. Besides, sometimes dogs roaming freely in public can become excited and may react differently than if it was in its usual controlled environment. Mixed that with frightened people, it can be a recipe for a disaster.

Personally, I think that there needs to be new laws enacted to prevent an increase in the stray dog population in the Bahamas. The laws that are already on the law books in regards to demanding that all dog owners have their yards properly fenced in, must be strictly imposed. No person should be allowed to have dogs, especially big breed dogs that can become vicious to others, without having the proper safety protocols in place.

Laws regarding that all dogs in public be leashed and properly controlled by their owners, must be strictly enforced. If that means establishing “dog parks” where these animals can be allowed to roam freely, then that is something that must be considered.

I see it as a win-win situation for everyone. Dogs are properly taken care of and walkers/runners are kept safe on the streets and even on the beaches.