Redditor Fears For Their Child's Safety And Clashes With Parkgoer After Asking Him To Put A Leash On His Golden Retriever

“I'll lead with I don't care for dogs and I will never trust one ever.”

Ayoub

• Published in Animal Stories
• October 16, 2022

Dogs usually get extremely excited the second you pick up their leash since it usually means that you are about to take them on a walk. However, some “leash-free” communities don't feel that it's necessary to put their dog on a leash because they claim that they have total trust in their pet and their behavior.

No matter how well-behaved your dog might be, there are always good reasons to put a leash on your dog, especially in public places. Some spaces are designed for unleashed dogs, such as leash-free dog parks or fenced backyards.

It's always safer to keep your dog leashed to prevent them from randomly walking into oncoming traffic and potentially getting hit by a car. Even in parking lots, it's always safer when you opt for leashing your dog.

Leashed dogs will also behave better towards other dogs and stay under control if things happen to escalate. Besides that, dogs remain cleaner when they are on a leash, you can prevent them from going on a random wild chase where they could potentially come in contact with germs and dirt.

A Redditor who goes by the username u/AnyPercentage1242 made a post on the r/AmItheAhole subReddit where they explained how they got extremely uncomfortable and scared for their son's safety after coming across an unleashed dog. Scroll down and check out the full and original Reddit post.

Here's the original post by Reddit user u/AnyPercentage1242:

OP never had to deal with this issue before since most dogs are usually leashed.

OP eventually came across an unleashed Golden Retriever and feared for their son's life.

Here's how the Reddit community reacted to u/AnyPercentage1242's post:

Kids will be taught to fear dogs and distance themselves from them.

Even if your dog is friendly, it doesn't really matter.

Dogs are sometimes unfriendly and aggressive towards other dogs.

You can never be too sure. Accidents happen.

It's not fair to dogs or the future generation.

Stupid is inevitable. You have to take extra precautions to avoid unpleasant situations.

Dogs can sometimes make bad decisions without any prior notice.

The dog owner was in the wrong, but OP could've dealt with the situation more appropriately.

That should have been more than enough.

The approach was not pleasant.

The dog owner was breaking the law. Period.

There is a law for a reason.

We get it. You don't trust dogs.

If it's growling and snapping, it's not really that friendly.

It's safer for the dog and everyone else.

It's the responsible thing to do. Even if your dog is friendly.

OP should have a friendlier approach next time.

OP had every right to fear for the safety of their child. However, they could have approached the situation in a more pleasant manner and that stranger would have maybe co-operated.

The dog owner broke the law and should have leashed his dog to prevent issues of this sort. If your actions make people uncomfortable, then you should probably reconsider them. If you enjoyed this story, make sure to check out similar content on the platform.

Ayoub