Letter: Beware of charging dog; keep yours under control

To the Editor:

I was up on Coon Hill taking my daily walk. On my way back down I encountered an older couple with a pit bull. The dog took off running straight at me. They grabbed for the trailing leash and missed.

I could see the fear and panic in the couple’s faces as the dog charged at me. They tried to call it back, but the dog totally ignored the couple.

Having had dogs all my life I knew that the first thing I needed to do was pull the black neoprene face cover off so the dog would know I was a person. Then I called the dog to me … he quit the charge and came up to me.

When I got to the couple I told them they needed to keep their dog on a leash.

She responded by telling me I was stupid to think that pit bulls were dangerous, berating me by calling me “stupid” a couple of times more when I tried to explain my side.

The very next day I ran into a couple of ladies I see walking their dogs up on the bluff. I informed them that a pit bull running loose charged me. Unbelievably, the same people and dog had attacked their dog and the pit bull had locked onto their dog’s neck. The lady told me it was all the man could do to pry it off of her dog.

Her dog was not hurt badly, but the couple begged them not to call the police as it would ruin dog walking on the bluffs for everyone. She reported them anyway, as did I.

If you know who these people are with the white pit bull and I believe a white Suburban-type vehicle, drop a line to the police. It is very unfortunate that this will color the way people see dogs. I have been walking the bluffs and biking them for decades and have ran into many wonderful dogs on and off the leash.

Please, keep your dogs on a leash if you cannot control them. The bluffs are for everyone to enjoy. If you have no control over your dog, think twice before letting them run on the city trails.

Nora Whitmore

Red Wing

Tags: opinion, letters