8 Dogs Die After Oregon Leash Dispute

This is just the saddest, most awful story. Can any of our Portland DUers comment on this?

http://customwire.ap.org/dynamic/stories/D/DOG_POISONINGS?SITE=OHDAY&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT

Excerpt:

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) -- In this congenitally dog-friendly city, where dogs once roamed free in city parks, someone is taking a debate over leash laws to a sinister level: Eight dogs have died, reportedly from eating poisoned sausage left in a park, and eight others have taken sick.

Autopsies indicated that someone laced the meat with the herbicide paraquat, veterinarians say. The poisonings began weeks after a round of local media reports dissecting the tensions surrounding the leash/no-leash issue in city parks.

Canine owners are on edge, certain that some lifelong dog-hater got sniffed one too many times by an unleashed pet, and decided to take revenge. They are packing fundraisers around the city to contribute toward a reward for information leading to an arrest. So far, the take is $13,000 and counting.

If the dog killer can do this to animals, he can do it to people. This person should be charged with felonies, not misdemeanors, felonies and put in jail for I'd say 10 years.

I hope they find this sicko dog murderer and throw the book at him.

This is so tragic to me. :-(

No arguement there.

But dog lovers (I'm one) have to realize not everyone likes them. Some folks feel threatened, sometimes with justification. If there's an agressive looking 150-pounder darting around some 3-year-olds, parents have a right to be nervous. And some folks just have a phobia.

Bottom line, dogs should be on a leash unless they're on private property. If Portland laws don't reflect that, they should.

Little kids could pick us this and eat it too! Really sick!

The DEA under then president Jimmy Carter attempted to wipe out the Mexican marijuana crop by using the tactics of Operation Ranch Hand from Viet-Nam.

Aerial Spraying.IE (Only we can Prevent Forests) Only they used Agent Orange in Viet.

The growers quickly harvested the crop, packed it and sold it. Paraquat kills the living plant and only makes the harvested plant sticky.

Thousands of pot smokers became sick.

The horticulturalists in the Universities stuck back and created dozens of new strains just as potent as the Mexican stuff that would grow anywhere. It was like the cold war. ie My missile is bigger-- No My Anti-Missile is Bigger- No My missile is bigger

LOL

Too Bad about the dogs though this person is a SICK ASS HOLE.!!!!

last night and tonight at one of our favorite pubs, the Lucky Labrador to get money to pay for the sick dogs' vet bills.

And today, some old man called one of the organizers up.....and said to be forewarned, he was going to move his campaign to another park and poison MORE dogs. To the Mount Tabor park.

DISGUSTING!!!!!

This is the first I'd heard of the raging leash/no leash debate in Portland. How is your local news covering this? What kind of advice is being given to dog owners?

Ohhh, this just bothers me so much. I just can't imagine how I'd feel if my two sweet dogs were murdered by some asshole with a poisoned sausage and an agenda.

I do hope the Lucky Labrador told the police about that phone call. Shouldn't be too tricky to find out who made that threat.

Good luck in this troubling situation,
Jennifer

the call was to the house or something of one of the organizers......some gal. I am sure they are investigating it.....GOD I hope to god that she did a *57 trace after the call came in! Cause that tells the phone company to lock in the trace. The police can then get the info from the phone co.

The news stations are all over it!! Stories morning, noon, and night.

And basically telling people to be very careful.

But also illuminating the debate on the leash laws vs. opening more spaces up for dogs. The authorities have funded $500K to enforce leash laws. For that...they could fence off portions of some parks for dog play.....and a whole host of other things.

I keep my dogs on their leashes (and pick up their poop!).........and luckily never go to the parks where this is happening. But I had them in my park yesterday, and one of my dogs' face got all swollen last night. So I took him to the night vet worrying that MAYBE something was in my park! It was just a bug bite.....and benadryl and cortizone got him back to normal. But I was worried!!!

You don't mess with our dogs in Portland and get away with it!

If a few dog parks were established in the city, within the already existing parks, this would solve the problem. Owners would be able to let their dogs frolic freely, and others would be able to enjoy the parks.

Cost is of course an issue.. here in Cincinnati, we lobbied Petsmart to sponsor our Dog Park (I was very, very involved in this project). They came through, and it's just the most amazing, happy place to be. We could use a few more Dog Parks, but it'll happen, with time.

If dog owners have an alternative and then refuse to take advantage of it, continuing to allow their dogs to run around unleashed in other areas of the park, they should be ticketed and the leash laws should then be strictly enforced.

I'm sure enforcement is another thorny issue.

Sigh... it's just a very sad state of affairs, and I'm sorry, truly sorry, for the owners who lost their companions. Take care of your pupper doggers, DagmarK, and make sure you don't let them eat anything in the parks. :-(

- Jennifer

I don't condone poisoning dogs. I've been bit once, knocked down once and threatened more times than I can count by off-leash dogs in the parks near my home in SE Portland. That said:

Off-leash dogs are a problem - as much as off-leash dogs can be a problem - in Portland. Dog owners, not all of them but enough to make it a nuisance, do not pick up dog droppings. In city parks, city sidewalks, on city soccer fields, and around the playgrounds of city schools. Further city code requires dogs be on leashes in most areas of most parks. That doesn't happen. Dog owners, not all of them but a whole lot of them, let their dogs run free all over the parks and they don't just sniff people. They bark, they run into people and kids, they get aggressive etc. Not to mention the dog feces and urine left all over. The number one complaint about the city parks is off-leash dogs. They also harass other wildlife, in Laurelhurst that wildlife is particularly ducks who inhabit a large area around a duck pond at the center of the park. Kids and adults can get sick from the residue from dog feces that isn't fully cleaned up.

Like this one:


Or the dog that did this:


Some people encourage their dogs to play in the some of the small pools that kids use in the parks. An off-leash dog caused a bicyclist to break his neck. The neighborhood association has complained about dogs in that specific park. The broken neck happened in the park where the poisoner is threatening to start harming dogs next.

There's an earlier article, probably the one that sparked this recent round of attacks, here: http://www.portlandtribune.com/archview.cgi?id=18734

It's not completely dog owners' fault. There are a lot of good dog-owners who get tarnished by the bad ones. The city has no money, or not enough, to enforce the leash ordinances. The off-leash parks are not in areas where the dogs are. The city needs more off-leash areas, better located, and more money for enforcement. I'd be surprised if they couldn't fund two ticket-writers off of the money made from tickets to off-leash dog owners over the course of a year. Personally I'd like to see off-leash dogs picked up by animal control, like someone would pick up your car if you left it in the middle of an intersection - let dog owners pay impound fees to get off-leash dogs back if they're not in off-leash areas.

The city park Dog FAQ letters page is here:
http://www.portlandparks.org/DogsinParks/Letters.htm
If you read it you'll note that there's at least a few other people who have been attacked or had their leashed dogs attacked by unleashed dogs. The police have also had to kill at least one dog in the metro-area in the last month or so because it was running wild and IIRC attacked officers - it was one of two off-leash pitbulls running around a neighborhood in a suburb of SE Portland.

Edited to add: Anyone know if ANY of the dogs that died/got sick were on leashes? Or are all these sick/dying/dead dogs illegal off-leash dogs?

Edited again to add: Please see Dagmark's reply to this post re: the dog killed in the suburb. My info on it in this post isn't entirely correct. TY Dagmark for bringing that to my attention.

What is it about Portland that has the city in such a frenzy about unleashed dogs, that some wacko would be motivated to murder animals to make a point?

I'm not criticizing Portland at all... it's just that I don't understand why it's such a hot button issue there. Since reading this story, I've looked at a few websites, and I'm just really blown away by the passion involved in this issue.

Dogs biting is one thing... dogs crapping is another. Are the dog owners in Portland just, as a whole, incredibly irresponsible and even argumentative when it comes to the leash issue?

Jennifer
Responsible Dog Owner and Lover
Frequent Visitor to Dog Parks (there's an idea, Portland)

or something like that. But the 30% that are irresponsible are largely the one's in the parks. Portland has a lot of parks, bicyclists, and families using the parks. It also has a lot of dog-owners that like to use the parks. The good dog-owners, the ones that pick up after their dogs and keep their dogs leashed when in leash areas are not a problem. But those dog-owners are few and far between.

Portland dog-owners that let their dogs off leash act like their dog is a little kid that everyone should love no matter what it does. They really do get verbally abusive - if not physically threatening, if you suggest they leash their dogs. In my 15 years or so of using Portland parks I've never, not once, seen an off-leash dog owner respond in an appropriate manner to someone who in a gentle and friendly way pointed out that the area they were in required dogs be on leash. I've even seen people yelled at when they ask dog-owners to pick up their dog's feces.

but they aren't placed in the areas where the people live.....

You have a nice park in your neighborhood -- as I do -- and you want to WALK there......not drive on a freeway for 15 minutes to get there. Or worse, if it's rush hour.

I never knew it was such a hot button issue either.

We just need to fence off portions of the main parks and designate them doggie play areas. And that helps with the dog poop too.....cause there will always be someone TO CATCH you if you don't pick up the poop.

And Portlanders are TERRIBLE about picking up poop! ( I do )

But there's not an off-leash park for many many miles. If you haven't read the article it's a decent read. The study showed the great disparity between the high dog-ownership areas and the areas where the off-leash parks are. When I read it I got the impression they couldn't have located the parks any further from the dogs if they had tried. I can't figure out how they decided where to locate them, but they sure blew it putting them where they did.

That pitbull that had to be shot.......it was not at a park with an owner and off leash. It escaped from his dog run at his house. Which is NOT an off leash issue......it's a containment issue.

But I agree.......I have to go to way out of the way places (not even parks) to walk my dogs because of the off leash dogs. I can't have other dogs approach MY german shepherd because my shepherd goes ape wild when other dogs run up to him. If everyone had their dogs on a leash (as I do) we could just all do our own thing. So, that's why I never go to the popular parks. So it affects dog owners too.

they should just put some dog play pens in some attractively fenced corners of the park.......like in NYC. They DO have 1/2 million bucks to enforce off leash offenders. That could put a cool play pen in all the parks. Sure, people don't want fences, but it would really separate the activity areas.

I agree.....I wouldn't have a kid play in a park amidst all that dog pee and poop!

There's a letter on the Parks page I linked is about a dog-owner like yourself who has problems with off-leash dogs, although I think hers is that her tiny dog gets attacked by larger off-leash ones. It's a shame that off-leash dogs drive the responsible dog owners out of the parks. I like your idea about fences, and I do support more off-leash areas - even one in every park. I just wish that off-leash dog-owners would take responsibility and maybe form some kind of club that raised money for off-leash areas and volunteered to patrol them or something.

the responsible dog owners should start taking a bigger role in this debate. We are the best positioned! The last time I was at Kelly Point Park (a year ago).....I am walking with my dogs (on leash) and this viscious dog comes up to us trying to fight with my two dogs, who were freaking out. I broke a finger in that tirade. And the jerk who finally caught up with his dog was a total ASSHOLE.....and I yelled at him to leash the dog. And he started yelling at me that it was an off leash dog park! I was infuriated. So, now, I can't even go to Kelly Point Park! And it's an easy and fun drive for me! Harrumph!

(of course, the dead bodies that get dumped there also kind of deter me. LOL)

I used to go out to an abandoned field by Kelly Pointe Park.....but they built a HUGE prison there!!!

And the closest dog park is at Delta Park. I have to travel the freeway.....and then drive through commercial strip centers and then there I am.....out there in the middle of trucker heaven......alone, except my dogs. That dog park is not a good option.

Hey aaron, you know that Ashcroft is coming to Portland tomorrow, right? There is a protest.....where people are meeting in the park blocks at 10:30am and walking down to the Hatfield Judicial Complex at 3rd and Salmon for an 11am protest. I am going......so should you!!!

the local and taxes needed to fund the recreation for their dogs.

Dog parks are very expensive, and priorities have to be set, especially in populated areas, as to which is more important, greenspace for humans, or dog poop collection acreage for off leash dogs.

It seems that off leash dog areas are more for human interaction than for dogs. Dogs don't know there are parks out there, they can't read the brochure. It's not very wise to get a huge dog requiring hours of exercize when you live in a 400 square foot apartment. It's rather strange actually.

Dog parks are utterly useless for human use. The stench from urine and even collected feces renders every blade of grass unusable for humans. I think humans need to be far less selfish in their choice of pets, and adopt animals that don't require hours of exercize in public spaces at taxpayer expense. A bit more personal responsibility is in order. It IS the bad guys who make these issues tougher on everyone else... Like others, I can't take my dogs to a dog park, since two would get chewed up and the 3rd would defend us by ripping off my arm to defend us from the loose dogs. That's why I have a yard and got no dogs until I got a yard. I didn't tell my dogs there are dog parks and they're oddly happy not knowing this.

Nonsense. Rent covers landlord expenses plus some, including taxes.

mutt mitt stations, cans and baggis just for dog poop. It costs them $200 for each can and the accompanying sign, then over $1000 a year to stock the can with plastic baggies and, then have it emptied every few days. There are some 20 poop stations, that cost taxpayers over $20,000 a year to maintain, so people can walk their dogs. There are 3000 dogs in west hollywood.

And, they spent $26,000 to renovate a park that has allowed dogs off leash. They have to relay the sod twice a year, and in addition maintenance men remove, get this, 60 pounds of feces from the shrubbery every week.

This past year, the City of west hollywood spent more than $50,000 to renovate and maintain facilities for dogs, the majority of whom belong to renters in rent controlled apartments.

That doesn't include the hundreds of hours of man hours spent on conducting investigations into bite cases, dog barking complaints, dogs off leash complaints, aggressive dog complaints, and doesn't include their contract amount of almost $100,000 with the County of los Angeles and the SPCA for these services.

Lotta money, isn't it?

Now, no one get the idea I like talking about poop. :)

Our two dogs go twice a day, at about a half pint each go, we'll call the total 2 pounds a day. So 14 pounds a week.

60 lbs a week is only 8 or 9 errant dogs' worth.

Now in our little Colorado town of 500 or so, we've got the plastic mitt stations, but just regular trash cans at the park. I know we've got more dogs that people in town, the Western Slope is just kinda that way.

Do that math! A lot of poop to move, sure. BUT, a typical home produces 100 gallons (830 lbs) of effluent every day, almost 25,000 lbs in a month. For this, we pay $40 a month. West Hollywood has nearly 36,000 people. Even at five to a household that's $288,000 (probably more, I'm playing with CO numbers after all) just to move people poop every month.

And $1500 to move the doggie doo is unreasonable? A half of one percent of the poop budget?

pick it up?

Did the city workers feed the dogs? House the dogs? Do they own the dogs? Aren't there more productive uses of taxpayer dollars?

Why should the responsibility for picking up the poop be put on the taxpayers?

If you don't have a dog, and own your house, and I rent a little tiny apartment, rent control, $360 a month, and have 2 golden retreivers; should your taxes pay to clean up after my personal responsibility? Even if I own a house and pay taxes too, why should your taxes enable my lack of personal responsibility? Think about how many library books that money could buy, or a new swingset, or more benches for the parks... more trees for the streets.

How about this. I have a dog, you don't. Should you come to my house and clean up after my dog?

I'm pointing out that rarely think about others anymore. Humans are very selfish and don't think about the impact their actions have on others, to the point of driving people to kill...

first, obiviously people should take personal responsibility. second, obviously not everyone does or will. so, why not raise necessary money from dogowners without hitting the taxpayer? charge dog licensing fees. and write tickets for dog violations.

as to "driving people to kill". no one drove the man to kill. he chose to do it. he has full responsibility. it is in no way excused because he was reasonably annoyed. if this man killed my dogs, i would quite probably beat him to a bloody pulp. but, it would be my responsibility even though he killed members of my family. i wouldn't say he "drove" me to it.

don't clean up after their dogs.

You have to pay him about $30 (after benefits and expenses) an hour to do it. Then you have to pay the people who process the fines. That guy needs a boss. He needs a car too.

Do you expect some deputy to be on duty 24/7? Most dogs are walked after general business hours. Hire some city worker to write tickets, the get OT or late shift pay too. Late night dog walkers, early morning dog walkers, the stealth poopers.

Who sees these people other than OTHER dog walkers? You have to provide a car, the gas, the deputizing, the tickets, the uniforms, write the laws and the processing of the tickets. The tickets will not fund the endeavor. The perps will see the uniform and pick up after fluffy or put fluffy back on the leash and go to a different location with the same end results.

For the same reason I pay for police when my neighborhood is crime free. For the same reason we pay people to teach children when we don't have children. In that sense, my taxes enable someone else's lack of personal responsibility.

Society has decided two salient hings: first, dogs are nice to have around, and second, poop should be carted off. "Think about library books" is a logical fallacy.

Most urban/suburban places require dog licenses. Then there's the commercial value: dog food, treats, toys, chewies, accessories. Then there are the professionals: veterinarians, kennels, groomers, etc. All of this commerce results in more taxes. Income taxes, sales taxes, excise taxes. When some people aren't whining about (biodegradable) poop, other people are whining about the billions of dollars spent annually on pets in the US while children go hungry.

Compared to 100 years ago when the largest ecological problem in most cities was the tons of horse manure that had to be collected and disposed of each day, a little dog poop seems almost laughable.

Indeed, considering the tons of horse manure being shoveled daily from the current madministration ... :shrug:

Would anyone care to discuss the abysmal amount of waste generated by the cosmetics industry? (Colored dirt and grease packed in plastic destined for landfills.) :puke:

edited: duplicate post

the landlord, who is not occupying that neighborhood or using that park, probably, is paying the full taxes for this.

And what's up with stifling QUALITY of life in terms of the pets we choose. My dogs are big.....and I love them. I don't want some yippy dog that I can wear on my head like a spring hat!

You are just no fun at all!

And, honestly, in the parks I go to...there is not dog poop all over the place. Yes, it shows up.....but it's usually little yippy dog sized poop......yeppers..those dogs that don't need as much exercise.....with their little cat sized turds......that poop is the most common. I can't even remember when I saw a 100-pound dog sized poop in a Portland park.

Again, you are just no fun at all.

We should close down all movie theaters as well -- and disney land ... and all sorts of QUALITY OF LIFE stuff......all those people driving to get to those places really screws up the AIR we breath...and the offenders no way pay the taxes to cover the air quality measures that have to be taken.

Oh, you are right..let's just cancel SUMMER. Do your realize the impact on the environment from all the activities? If people would just go to work, come home and take up space in their little cramped apartments and not leave unless there's an emergency, the world would be much better off.

Do you hear yourself think?????

My schedule was hectic this week. Maybe next time though. Ty for the heads up. I'd love to get a chance to tell Ashcroft what I think of his unconstitutional policies to his face.

...leash laws in nyc are poorly enforced and there is a sizable group of militant anti-leash dog owners. the streets are full of dog shit and dogs are off-leash all the time.

some of the biggest offenders are the "weapon dog" owners.

if it were up to me i would make the penalties more severe and get super-active in enforcement. if responsible dog owners want any sympathy from me they should be active in supporting enforcement.

To genetically engineer dogs to be resistant to Paraquat, rat poision and other household chemicals.



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I find this story disturbing. Not only because of the dead and sick dogs, but because of the owners of dogs that allow them to run free and terrorize neighbors. They should be arrested as should the poisoner. If you live in the woods or on a farm miles from neighbors, yes, you might be able to let your dogs loose, but even then you are endangering their lives. I was threatened by a pit bull in my own front yard. He got between me and my front door so my only option was to act bigger and meaner than he was. I was lucky and he backed off. After that, you can imagine, I thought twice and looked around really good before I went out my front door. You shouldn't be afraid to go out your front door.

Irresponsible dog owners make it nearly impossible for responsible dog owners, thus so many places where dogs are not allowed, so many places you can't live, and so many unreasonable restrictions on good dog owners. We just recently moved and my first question at each place we looked was "do you allow pets?" Most did not. We weren't about to move anywhere that didn't allow our 30-pound dog. We finally found a nice place and our dog just made the weight cutoff.

Edit for grammar.