Being able to run or walk on the main beach between Pambula and Merimbula on the many pristine mornings we have here has to be one of the best parts of owning a house in this part of the world.
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I set out most mornings feeling calm and enjoying such peace to have it quickly shattered by the first dog that comes rushing at me as I start my run.
The owners usually ignore me when I yell commands at their dog and beg the owners to them to call them off or they verbally abuse me.
I’ve had one apology in fifty such interactions and I’m mostly told the dog is ‘being friendly’ (hard to know when it’s rushing and jumping and barking), that I shouldn’t react and even told I shouldn’t run on a leash free beach (meaning the whole beach?).
The BVS and NSW regulations require dog owners to be responsible and have the dog ‘under effective control’ and as one who loves dogs and has been a dog owner in the past I would always put my dog on its leash near others as no one knows when a dog will act protectively of its owner.
Do we have to wait for an attack on a child or an older frailer adult tripped up by a ‘friendly’ dog to have dog owners act responsibly?
Elizabeth Stacey
Pambula Beach