Is He Wrong for Not Leashing His Dog in a Public Area?

Walking your dog is supposed to be a fun activity, and letting them have a bit of freedom makes for an even happier dog. Still, sometimes, the simplest actions can lead to unexpected situations.

Redditor u/doomsdaymelody let his dog off the leash in a park next to his apartment complex. This instantly led to an altercation with another dog owner, who quickly threatened to call the police.

Off The Leash

OP lives in an apartment complex with his fiance, cat, and Belgian malinois mix called Ziggy. He's a well-trained service dog who weighs 50 lbs. OP's apartment complex is surrounded by vacant office campuses that often get leased out, resulting in minimal foot traffic when they are not in use.

Next door to the apartment is a small park where other dog owners often meet and allow their dogs to have fun off the leash and run around. OP and Ziggy usually take early morning and night walks around the park. Ziggy is often let off his leash so he can explore and sniff about as most dogs do, and considering how well-trained Ziggy is, OP has no issues with this.

So, one morning, he got to the park, and seeing no one around, he let Ziggy off leash and gave him his release command, which tells Ziggy he can relax and get on with his sniffing. The sound of a smaller dog barking from behind OP drew his attention. Ziggy, however, had his nose buried in frost-covered snow, ignoring the barks and focusing on the sniffing.

The smaller dog's owner addressed OP, asking if he could leash his dog. He agreed to do so and called Ziggy so he could attach the leash to the dog. As the dog came over, OP realized that this set off the other dog owner, who instantly demanded that OP walk over to Ziggy to leash him rather than having the dog come over to him.

“A Ticket-able Offense”

The smaller dog owner asked OP to leash his dog, or he'd call the police on him. OP was well aware that having a dog off leash was a ticket-able offense and had no interest in that. However, OP stated;

“I suppose I reacted poorly to his additional demands and the threat because I was already trying to politely entertain his request. So I told him to call the police then because my dog wasn't the one being aggressive.”

This prompted the smaller dog's owner to be aggressive to OP, using profanities while crossing the street. He brought up OP's wife and commented on how frequently he sees him walking without a leash. He continued his tirade, repeating that he would report him to the police from that moment.

OP responded by calling the man a name and telling him to train his “rat” to be less aggressive.

He took a step towards OP, which prompted Ziggy to let out a snarl that caught the attention of both men. Though there was no physical interaction between the two dogs, Ziggy kept his focus on the other man and his dog until OP led him away from the situation.

Redditors Say: It Doesn't Matter How Trained a Dog Is. It's an Animal

Redditors think OP is wrong for this one, accusing him of being ignorant and obnoxious.

Olamina41 responds,

“OP's dog snarled when he felt OP was threatened….but OP's dog is timid and well-trained! OP is an arrogant idiot asshole. Dogs are animals. Even the best-trained, most sweet dogs can attack. OP, you are clearly the AH. Signed owner of many dogs in my lifetime, some professionally trained, but always on a leash other than in our backyard or the dog park.”

Locksmith91 also thinks OP is TA:

“The law says you are supposed to have the dog on a leash? The stuff about being a trained service dog and other people letting their dogs off the leash is just noise. If you are supposed to have your dog on a leash, keep your dog on a leash. YTA.”

What do you think? Do you have a dog and feel like it could sometimes run free, being a trained dog, without being a threat to others? Was OP really the aggressive one in this story?

Read the full story on Reddit here.

This article was produced and syndicated by Wealth of Geeks.