WHY ANIMALS DO THE THING

A great flowchart about if/when your dog should be on a leash (hint: it’s almost always). 

A woman I know is currently having to retire her seeing-eye dog. Why? It’s not because he’s old or sick. It’s because he was twice attacked by off-leash dogs in public while doing his job. Dogs who had “never done that before” and were “good dogs” whose attacks came “out of the blue.” Her dog was traumatized by the experience and became reactive to other dogs, and almost two months of attempted re-training through the organization that provided him has failed. He will never be a guide dog again. 

Because of the irresponsibility of other dog owners who thought it they were exempt from leash laws because they’d never had a problem before an invaluable and irreplaceable working dog can no longer do his job. My friend is having to give up a dog who has been an intimate part of her life and also her independence during the process of finding another service animal. 

Leash your dog.