Large dogs running wild
 

We were walking around Osceola Hills this evening and some guy was letting his two large dogs run around wild. They came charging up to us and really scared us.

He would not give us his name but I saw where he lives so I will go up to CDD at Lake Sumter tomorrow morning and file a complaint. Is there anything else we can do to convince him to ALWAYS have his dogs on leashes when they are off his property?

They're supposed to be on a lead even in their own yards unless fenced. Best to call animal control rather than CDD. CCD has no authority to handle this issue. The County does.

Maybe instead of reporting him, you could have made a suggestion and told him where the new dog park is and suggested since he has large dogs that need to run, that would be a great place for him to take them. It would have been a nice way of breaking into the leash law topic.

So is there anyone in The Villages management who has the authority to enforce the strict leash laws?

Nope. The clue is the word "laws". If it is a law, it is up to the appropriate governmental agency to handle it, in this case animal control. Community Watch might have a talk with the dog owner, but is not required to do so.

Isn't that the way of life for most people, reporting someone to "the authority"? I'm surprised the OP didn't whip out the smart phone and start filming everything to be used in court. What happened to the old fashioned talking it out with someone you have a problem with?

Large dogs running wild
 

These are the very same type of people that would "tell" on others as children. "Telling" was frowned upon then, encouraged today.

If you see something say something. Check, good.

I love dogs but leash laws are in effect here and I think leash laws are good.

If I remember correctly about MY childhood, "telling" was only "frowned" on by bad kids and folks who ended up in prison complaining about snitches.

I loved being a "good girl". I was shocked later to find out that good girls didn't have any fun.

RickyD....if I see you out running around with your big dogs off leash, I'm tellin'.;)

P.S. Ditto that large Pikichu figure in your front yard that isn't under the eaves.............................................

why have any laws at all.......

Sounds like the OP did try to talk to the owner, at least enough to ask his name. There are times when talking to someone does work. I'm not convinced this would be one of them. There are very few towns today that don't have leash laws. The dogs' owner had to know he was in violation of those laws and didn't care.

I don't know if the dogs were running to say hello to the new people, just running and having fun or were trying to protect their owner. I do know it frightened the OP. I would guess that it will take an authority figure to convince this gentleman that his dogs need to be on a lead except at a dog park. Sometimes the only thing that works is threat of a fine or worse.

I agree. You know his address. He could just be your next life long friend if you give him a chance to apologize. If he doesn't then...you made the friendly gesture anyway and do what you then think best.

It goes back further than that ..the Pharisees were always looking to find "others" faults, and explained it was trying to see if it was FAIR-U-SEE.

Everyone makes a slip now and then....first give them a chance...and down the road hopefully when you slip up by mistake, they will do likewise.

It is because of the few who feel the leash laws do not apply to them that I always have a walking stick with me when I take our dog for her morning two mile walk every day.

My hesitancy with calling the authority is fear of the dogs being removed from the house. That many times doesn't have a happy ending. It would be a different story if they put the owners in the pokey.

The Villages does nothing about loose dogs. They will give you the number of Animal Control. In Marion county section anyway.

I was raised not to snitch plus I was a major nerd as a kid. I cut loose as a college freshman and rarely look back.
I always confront any issue directly and rarely approach any authority both in and out of work.

I went to the Community Development office at Lake Sumter this morning to complain about the dogs running loose in Osceola Hills, and they took my complaint seriously. They said that because our neighborhood is new, they would have the builder send a letter to the homeowner reminding them of the leash laws in TV. I stressed that these dogs were not the small dogs so common in TV, but they were larger and more aggressive. I said that, to my knowledge, many villagers are armed and might shoot an aggressive dog running loose. I said it would be a very good idea for the builder to talk with the dog owners personally. She seemed very concerned and said she would call the builder.

Then we drove down to the Sumter county Animal Control office in Lake Pannasofkie. They also took our complaint seriously and said they would send an officer to the dog owners house. I told them we used to live in a TV-like community in Maryland and that one homeowner shot and killed a dog that was harassing them. The person at Animal Control did not blink and eye and said that is allowed here as well.

Well, I have not fired a gun in 45 years so I will not go that route, but we will definitely not walk by that house again.

Yes, and I would use that stick on the owner who didn't leash his fur baby!:icon_wink:

I like the "friendly approach" suggestions.

This is a very strong statement. No dogs have been shot or shot at in The Villages.
Why do you think that someone would shoot a dog in The Villages. That is kinda paranoid to me!
If the folks at Community Development said they would respond to the situation........why then go to Animal Control? What's next a stop at the Sheriffs Office?

What did the dogs do other than run up to you???Did they jump on you? Did they scratch you? did they bite you? Did they bark their fool heads off?? Why should small dogs be any different than large dogs?? I understand your being scared because of not knowing but what did you learn about the dogs_that they just run up to you????

A few shots at humans in the past but no dogs. [emoji6]

Probably for the same reason a guy shot a dog in the Maryland neighborhood where we lived in the 1970's.

Because I thought they might put more pressure on the dog owner to realize the error of his ways.

Yes, that is next if a loose dog scratches or bites me.

The large dogs ran up very close to us barking loudly in a very aggressive manner. It really scared us. Later the owner finally came out of his house.

Is it reasonable that we were very upset? I would appreciate a Yes or No answer.

Have a question how does the dog warden have any business in your own yard,if your dog isn't doing anything wrong.Guess I need to check the law that refers to

FWIW, following is from the Sumter County website...

"County Code 4-10 states that all dogs must be confined on owners property at all times or under direct control or on a leash when off the owners property.

Otherwise a citation will be issued for the animal running free."

IMO, this is a reasonable law. I seriously doubt TV would ever enforce any rule more strict than this.

As usual, a sane and common sense response.

In my opinion, this law is not reasonable. The phrase "under direct control" is too ambiguous.

I like the statement in section 2.23 of our Declaration of Restrictions which states that dog owners "shall be responsible to keep such pet on a leash".

In my opinion, I think you are one of those rather afraid of all dogs, or not a fan of them.

I could tell from the title of the thread that you're very upset about the situation.
Not "Large Dogs Off Leash", but "Large Dogs Running Wild".
You are right that the dogs had no right to be running in the streets.
(I assume the dogs were off the owner's property and not confined by an invisible fence?)
I'm sorry you were scared by these large dogs.

Large dogs running wild
 

The phrase "under direct control" is a commonly used phrase in leash laws. Such control is easily demonstrated and a lack of such control is readily obvious. It is not ambiguous to law enforcement.

Requiring that a well-trained dog be on a leash while being supervised on its owner's property is not reasonable. That's why it's rarely (never that I've seen) written into law.

"Talk it out" with somebody whose large dogs are already really scaring me??

Take the chance that the dogs would defend the owner if the o.p. came near him????? No way!!

That owner was obligated to do the talking, and apparently did not. I wouldn't take any chances with his scary dogs defending him if I tried getting close enough to him to talk sense to him!

:ohdear: :ohdear: :ohdear:

We're the dogs in the street or in their yard maybe within an invisible.fence??? Makes a big difference.

I suspect the "talking" was more like scolding or lecturing.

You are correct.

Many people are bitten by dogs annually.
 

I googled dog bite statistics and I was really surprised
how many people are bitten annually that require medical attention.
And a number of attacks are fatal.
I remember a friend telling me that one of their labs
attacked a very young neighbor girl, it caused
her Injury and pain, and them legal problems.

Yes, the large dogs were in the street about 40 yards from the owners house. The owner was not present, but came out of his house shortly afterwards.

Any more questions?

Read section 2.23 of the Declaration of Restrictions that you signed when you bought your house. It says that dogs must be on a leash.

Not everything is black and white....I generally like dogs and
have had a few over the years. But I don't care for aggressive dogs of any size, or loud yappy ones.
Even dogs, that their owners feel are so gentle and docile can become agitated and aggressive in certain situations.

First, I clearly spoke of laws, not deed restrictions.

Second, you do know there are different restrictions for the various villages within each district, don't you?

I have read and know what is in the Declaration of Restrictions for my village. It speaks to the number of pets allowed, responsibility for damage, etc. But it does not even address the subject of pets on a leash. It apparently leaves that matter to the Sumter County law previously cited.