[skyguy79]

As a few of you know I get around using a mobility scooter and transport it in a mobility equiped vehicle. If or when a dog poops, my scooter's tires don't care if its from a responsible or irresponsible owner's dog and neither do I. If I accidentally roll over some of the semi-dry chocolate pudding and don't realize it, I could later wind up getting it not only on my tires, but on my vehicle's ramp and on the carpet inside the vehicle, not to mention on myself.

Back when I first got a mobility scooter I did run over some of the stuff that wasn't picked up by the dogs owner. When I used a hose to try and wash it off, some spray got up under the motor cover and ruined the motor. I went without a scooter while I had to wait for the replacement to be shipped to me.

Another problem I could encounter is if a dog, under control or not, decided that my ankle or leg looked like a big tasty bone and took a sample taste. This could trigger months of painful ulcerations that I'm prone to and have suffered from, on and off for years. Believe me, if you experience the pain I've gone through because of ulcerations, you would most likely feel the same as I do about this.

Having said this I want to emphasize that I'm not in favor of banning dogs from the towne squares. Heaven knows I too love the little critters and enjoy petting their heads and chins when I run across one being walked in my Village or when going to our mailbox... if I can safely do so. However, I do wish dog owners, responsible or not, would stop and think about whether their optional choice to bring fido with them to the squares, when it's busy, is so important or necessary that it's worth the potential problems that could be created by their very presence.

If a dog owner feels it's worth the risk of exposing others to these kinds of problems, as well as the potential that exists for liability, then by all means they can bring their little cutties. But if they care for others and feel it's not worth the risks, then they should walk fido at the many other places possible around TV or leave them home and bring them back a nice treat. Today, the choice is yours to bring or not bring your dog to the towne squares. But in the future, if irresponsibility starts to overshadow responsibility... rule changes won't be very far away!