Well, today’s photo adventure never went as planned. Instead of pictures, all I got was bitten by a dog. Oh, I also got to sit in the emergency room for four hours to make sure everything was fine (it is… at least as far as dog bites go. And no, it’s not a huge bite, but that’s hardly the point). At least the wait gave me time to write this I suppose. 

I’ll warn you now that this post is not really photography related, other than the fact that I was heading out to take photos. So if you don’t want to read the whole story, at least take this away: Put your dog on a leash in parks and other public areas. You may think your dog would never bite (I know this dog owner felt that way), but I am now proof that they can.

Let me start by saying that, although I’m really mad about what happened today, I love dogs and I totally get why people love having them as pets (it’s not for me, but that’s cool). However, I’m not so fond of dogs when they charge me on my bike! But let’s face it, that’s more of a problem with dog owners than dogs.

This morning I made plans to go for a bike ride at a local conservation area and at the last minute, I decided to take my camera gear along with me for a change. It was a beautiful morning and I had some cool ideas for photos that I wanted to try so I headed out to the trails, loaded up my backpack and off I went.

I got about 5 minutes into the trail when I saw a woman with her dog. As I always do, I slowed down to make sure the dog and owner saw me. I immediately realized that the dog was NOT on a leash and it ran right for me despite it’s owner yelling at it to stop. This in itself is nothing new to me as a cyclist and hiker I’ve seen it many times, but usually the dog will retreat or just run by, sniffing as it approaches. In this case however the dog’s approach was concerning. It was not responding at all to it’s owner and before I had a chance to react, it circled behind me (I had almost stopped at this point) lunged and bit me on the calf. I was in shock.

As I’m checking the damage, all I hear is the owner apologizing (certainly yelling some nonesense about how this is not like her dog)… She actually had the nerve to say to me “he’s not a killer, just a harmer!” (whatever that means) I couldn’t believe my ears. I’ll spare you the details of my response, but suffice it to say I didn’t bother with niceties. I got her info, got on my bike and headed back to my car, where I then got some help from the conservation authority employees who were kind enough to provide some cleaning supplies and a bandage.

By this time the dog owner had made it back to the parking lot and as I was getting in my car, she approached me and explained that she knows the dog chases bikes, walkers, cars, and runners and that she knows it’s aggressive but didn’t expect to encounter anyone on the trail and never thought it would bite. Apparently the dog was restless on it’s leash (which she says she always uses) so she let it go. After all, she’s not like those other dog owners that aren’t responsible. Again I honestly can’t believe what I’m hearing. I again explained to her that this is a public area, not a dog park and dogs need to be on their leash (this time with fewer expletives). Apologies and excuses at this point are meaningless.

Like I said, I’ve encountered countless dogs off leash while biking, walking or hiking. Many of them while with my kid, and every time it makes me nervous as they approach. Every time, I mutter under my breath “put your dog on a leash!”… From time to time its been said out loud, depending on how aggressive the dog is. On those occasions where I speak up, I have always gotten the same rude, dismissive response and tone along the lines of “yeah, maybe I should…” But they don’t. After all, why on earth would they do such a thing to their dog?

So now, here I am waiting in this damn emergency waiting room for the rest of the day so I can make sure I don’t have rabies or some nonsense. All because some lady with an aggressive dog thought her leash looked nice hanging over her shoulder instead of on her dog. But the aggressive part is not the point. Dogs need to be on their leash for a reason. I am pretty upset about this, but I’m just thankful it was not my kid (who now rides with me). He thinks it’s great when dogs come around, which makes me even more nervous that something like this could happen to him.

Seeing dogs off leash has always bothered me and I can tell you one thing: from now on when I encounter a dog off leash where they should not be, I will dispose with the passive aggressive muttering under my breath, and make sure people know it is NOT OK to let their dog wander in public areas (and I’ll have the scar to prove it). I have no doubt that in the owner’s mind I will be the jerk who told them to put their animal on a leash. Who could imagine someone being so rude as to not want to be bitten by a dog while out for a walk, run, or bike ride? What nerve.

P.S. Keep an eye out for those photos I didn’t get a chance to take. I’ll give it another go soon. Hopefully this time without such drama.