Dear Leashed: It can be frightening when a dog comes running up to you and starts a fight, especially if your dog is on a leash and can’t escape, run away or properly get out of the way of an attack.  Break up fighting dogs is a great way to get bitten. You might try to grab the rear legs from underneath them to disorient them enough to stop fighting, but whatever you do stay away from the front end with the pearly whites. I always carry pepper spray with me when I walk my dogs alone in parks, just in case.

State Leash Laws

In general, most state leash laws require a dog to be on a leash or under their owner’s control. There are very few dogs, especially family pets that are not in training for competition, that exhibit this level of control without a leash. Keep in mind that leash laws only apply to the dog when it is off your property. You may allow your dog to roam on his own property unencumbered.

Connecticut state law doesn’t have a leash law per se, only one addressing roaming dogs. In fact, nowhere in the state statutes does it say a dog must be on a leash (except in proximity to a guide dog) only “under control of its owner or keeper.” So, for enforcement purposes there are sections devoted to penalties for “intentional or reckless release of a dangerous dog” or “damage to person or property”. Basically, if you let your dog off-leash only if it harms someone’s property (according to the statutes dogs are also considered private property) are several laws being violated.     

Local Ordinances

In most states, local ordinances supercede state laws. In Newtown there are no local ordinances, so the state law rules. Go to http://www.cga.state.ct.us/2003/pub/Chap435.htm to read the current laws for Connecticut under section 22-364.

Besides, if your dog gets away from you while off-leash, and the animal control officer picks it up, there will be even more fees. After the fees for violating state statutes, there is a fee for release from the pound and if your dog isn’t licensed there is a fee for failure to license. Then you must pay the licensing fee and any penalties for late filing (up to $1 per month past the June 30 deadline). All these fees and consequences, including the possible loss of your homeowner’s insurance if your dog damages another’s property or bites someone, can add up quickly. I love my dog’s leash!  Don’t leave home without it.

Lisa’s Pick of the Litter

In a recent column, I listed the Newtown General Store as a dog-friendly place to eat based on the recommendation of a dog travel book. A reader writes that he went into the Newtown General Store to buy The Newtown Bee and a cup of coffee and sat down inside the store to read the paper. With his West Highland White Terrier on a leash at his feet, a young girl at the counter came over and said he would have to leave, since they serve food and it was against the health department rules.

He suggested the book needed a revision. I went back and re-read the entry and what it doesn’t make clear is that the authors may have sat outside with their dogs to eat and not inside. I checked with the town health department and they cited the state public health code 19-13-B42 subsection (q)(1) which in part states, “No live birds or animals shall be allowed in any area used for storage, preparation or serving of food,” as to the reason why this dog lover was asked to leave the store.

Lisa Peterson, a breeder and exhibitor of Norwegian Elkhounds, is a Delegate to the American Kennel Club.

 

Send questions to ask@lisa-peterson.com or Dogma Publishing, P.O. Box 307, Newtown, CT 06470.