Editor:
On Sunday, March 1, I took an afternoon walk up Cougar Creek past the retention net. I came across two people with a dog coming down the path. When they were about 30 feet away, the dog, a German Shepard, ran towards me and made contact. Actually "charged me" would not be too strong a phrase.
While the dog was coming at me, one person, presumably the owner, yelled "Not to worry, he's friendly."
This incident only took a few seconds, and before I could decide whether or not to say anything, it was over, and we kept going our separate ways. I believe the owner said, "Sorry about that" as they passed.
For the rest of my walk, I debated whether or not I should be angry, or just be accepting of this kind of behaviour. The two people were probably nice and meant well. The dog probably was as friendly as I was told and, as some dogs do, liked to show it physically. I suffered no visible harm, so everything should be fine – right? Well, not really.
When an unknown large dog, or any animal, comes at you unexpectedly it can spoil your day. As a dog owner, please do not assume everyone welcomes your dog's attention. Don't say 'sorry' everytime it happens and not do something about it. A leash perhaps? Who knows, maybe the person on the receiving end has a heart condition, or hypertension, or just wants to have a relaxing, calm day in the outdoors.
Bob St. John
Canmore
