Letter: Leash laws should be enforced
To the community,
There is a reason for the leash law.
A couple days ago, I was riding my bike on one of our beautiful mountain bike trails and when coming around a blind corner I encountered two dogs off leash that caused me to flip head over landing on my shoulder.
Bob Sweatt
I recall hearing a crunch, crunch, and crunch. Upon rolling over and sitting up, one of the dogs was lunging and barking at me and I thought I was now going to be bit.
After pulling the dog away, the owner of the dogs asked me if I was OK. Being in shock and in pain I didn’t know what to say other than I told her she should have had her dogs on leash. She came back at me with, “I always ride slowly down this hill.”
Well, I don’t think I was going that fast because I was holding a piece of bark in my hand for carving and I don’t think it would have mattered anyway because the dogs would have done the same thing.
She continued on her way with her dogs and I just sat there.
After gaining my composure, I got up, picked up my bike and because my backpack was so heavy, I put it on my handle bars and started walking up the steep hill to my truck. Naturally, the straps on the backpack got tangled in the spokes which made it that much harder and a continual adjustment was necessary. After getting back to the truck I had to lift the bike up into the bed, which was not fun. Then, I just stood there for a while. Before getting into the truck, I noticed the lady was walking back the other direction with her dogs now on leash. I sure could have used her help with my bike. She again blurted out “are you OK?” To which I responded a quivery I don’t know.
Well, upon going to the emergency and getting an X-ray, I found out I had a fractured humeral bone in my shoulder. The doctor gave me some Percocet for the pain, put my arm in a sling and sent me on my way.
I guess I am writing this to bring awareness to the need of having dogs on leash when you are sharing a trail that is narrow and has blind corners. I understand why people let their dogs have more independence when out in the open, but I now truly understand why we have the law and am now a firm believer in using a leash.
I hope this article will bring awareness and if it keeps one person from injury like me, it will be worth it.
Bob Sweatt, South Lake Tahoe
There aren’t bad dogs, just bad dog owners. Selfish might be a more appropriate term.
Everybody, and I do mean EVERYBODY believes their dog is the best animal ever. With the exception of MY dog, it never is true. This appears to be a situation where the problem is more with the dog owner than with the dogs. I hope your shoulder heals quickly.
Famous words of a dog owner…
“Oh he never does that.” As the dog knocks over all of your stuff and jumps all over you. Breaking something. (Dog owners never pay for what their animals break.)
“Oh he is really nice” showing teath and snarling at you. Hair raising up on its neck. (Looks like such a friendly dog)
Almost every last dog owner is aweful in Tahoe and all the bayfoons make things worse. I would like one trail where you don’t see ether a nice dog dump dead middle of the trail or the owner so kind they put it in a bag for someone else to pick up. Every dog gets let off leash 1 minute off the trail to chase some kind of forest creature. Low impact? Tred lightly? 3/4 of this is the dog owner but a 1/4 still needs to given to the animal. They almost all act the same… Name one thing a dog is good for besides companionship? Try not feeding your dog and see how good the companionship is? They are just there for your handouts. Get over yourselves dog owners…
To Dogs suck:
If you live in Tahoe I wish you didn’t, and if you visit Tahoe I wish you wouldn’t.
Get over yourself dog hater.
Spouse – 4-mer-usmc
Unfortunately, given the spelling and lack of even the most basic comprehension of the English language, I can GUARANTEE you that “Dogs suck.” lives in South Lake Tahoe.
I agree with 4mer and Tahoe John, but there is another issue that seems especially appropriate here:
The dogs are only pert of the issue.
Can we also look at the fact this bicycle rider clearly stated that he was carrying a heavy pack AND had something other than his handle bars in his hands when this incident happened? Is this idiocy or what? If he had control of his bike would the outcome have been different? Almost assuredly.
He is complaining about dogs, but think about the other side, if this out of control biker had encountered another bike around the blind corner heading the other way?
Unbelievable.
Both my wife and I have had situations where we had to dive off the trail when hiking to get out of the way of downhill bikers traveling so fast they could not stop in time to avoid hitting us
Yes, these incidents were on multi use trails where horses are also allowed.
I’ll take the unleashed dogs over out of control bicycles any day. And yes, I ride a mountain bike on the trails too. Everybody needs to be cognizant of the conditions and hazards in the woods and take responsibility for their own actions.
I also agree that dogs should be leased and not allowed to roam freely and bark all night and day. Like dogs, but hate the owners who don’t treat them like family. Also to Bob, people on bikes should realize they share trails with people walking. At Van Sickle, some bikers came down so fast without even hitting their brakes, my sister in-law (who is 66) lost her footing and fell off the trail, landed in some shrubs and hit her head on a rock. So I guess it just isn’t the dogs that are the problems on our trails.
I’m sorry that this article has generated a response by a dog hater. I love dogs and one of my best friends has a dog that always goes hiking with us. When we are in the open, they give the dog some freedom and allow it to do some exploring. But, when they see other hikers, other dogs, bikers or are on a narrow trail, they always leash him up. Thank you B & A.
That is what other dog owners should do. The problem is not the dogs, but their owners who too often don’t want to deal with or take care of all those things you complained about dog hater.
On a mountain bike (more likely hiking) trail blind turns should be approached with caution and a reduction in speed in case unexpected objects like tree limbs, rocks, pine cones, branches, children, other people, another bike rider coming from the opposite direction, or perhaps even a surprise bear happen to be in the way.
She broke the law. Bottom line.
The crash by Mr. Sweatt was a bad timing issue, not to mention possibly self-inflicted, dogs or not, riding with a heavy pack and “holding a piece of bark” in his hand. Yes, as others have cited, blind turns require caution.
I ride local single track quite often and have a one strike bell on my handlebars, which I usually ring once when I see people – and they ALWAYS appreciate the heads-up – especially when coming around bushes and blind corners.
Everyone has a right to use the trails. Pedestrians have the right-of-way, but most often yield to cyclists, which, when we as cyclists show respect and slow down around walkers / hikers, keeps the harmony. Trail etiquette should always be followed by all parties.
Take responsibility for your own actions. Enjoy!
Should we now discuss sharing mt bike trails with motorcycles ? I encounter motorcycles more and more often on the corral trail and they are always going fast and rarely slow or give right of way as they are supposed too.
And then there is the issue of off roading being a “Keep Tahoe Blue ” activity. Why are we spending hundreds of millions of dollars stopping erosion in the basin and then allowing off roaders to tear up the place. Makes absolutely no sense, motorized off roading should be banned from the Tahoe Basin.
‘ all the bayfoons’
Bay Area buffoons?
Do all trails have leash laws?
Why don’t you be more careful on a trail you share with pedestrians and equestrians. Dogs are going to be off leash in the back country. Going down hill with no speed, I’m not buying it. What if they were children? You would have ran right over them. Mountain bikers always think they have the right of way YOU DO NOT. Your bad, be more careful.
Neither dogs nor bicyclists should be out of control on back country trails. That’s why my hiking stick doubles as a dog stick. And triples as a spoke stick.
Since this all started as a leash law discussion, I’d like to get back to that. In the past few years my wife and I have become ” dog lover haters” and this is why. While hiking almost any trail in the Lake Tahoe area we encounter dogs off leash. Some have charged at us, some have come up and jumped at us, and some just run by. Either way there’s no excuse for having a dog off leash. Like someone said earlier, most dog owners believe their dog wouldn’t hurt anyone but dogs do bite and some dogs attack and kill. That is a fact. I carry a walking stick and pepper spray and I’ve raised the stick and yelled at dogs when it looks like they are going to come at us. And then of course the dog owner is outraged- how ludicrous is that! There’s also a problem with dogs running around on beaches where no dogs are allowed- like El Dorado beach during a concert- and I’ve seen the police just ignore it. It’s all on the owner, there’s no other way to spin it.
Sorry you were injured, but give me a break. There are risks in life and you take them. Don’t blame dogs. Also, to the person complaining about motorcycles..can you not hear them coming a mile away? Share the trails and deal with the consequences! Mountain Bikers don’t want unleashed dogs out in open nature, hikers don’t want mountain bikes, mountain bikers don’t won’t motorcycles. “Stuff” happens. Deal with it or stay home.
“The problem is not the dogs, but their owners ”
does this sound like the same irrelevant comment as “guns dont kill people, people kill people.”?
It doesn’t matter whether it’s the dog or the owner. Tort law and animal control laws apply to the human being. Tahoe is well known for total lack of animal control, Eldorado County has a leash law (and that is even IN THE BACKCOUNTRY:
“Owners of dogs are required to keep their dogs confined to their property or on a leash at all times” – County of El Dorado
there is no exemption for dogs in the woods, nice dogs, lovable dogs, or dogs that are your re-incarnated grandmother. Try to let your dog roam free in places like Wyoming and Idaho and you will find out what happens to annoying dogs in a state where most people have hunting firearms. Yes you are “free” to let your dog roam, by one is also free to shoot it as a threat to others. Dog off leash = de facto threat (to either people, livestock, or wildlife) – end of story. Guess what?, you rarely see anyone’s dog off a leash. Want to show you have some consideration for others even if you do choose to violate the leash laws and let your best friend roam – put a damn muzzle on him!
Corral Loop was originally developed as an OHV trail. That and the Sand Pit are the only two places motorcycles can play in the dirt here. And yet you STILL aren’t satisfied, you want them banned completely? Kinda greedy, isn’t it?
At least the motorcycles actually PAY for their playgrounds. Those green sticker/red sticker registrations funds are supposedly earmarked for OHV trail maintenance. Except when State bureaucrats are stealing the money.
Lots of blame to go around in this town; everybody seems to think everybody else should be looking out for THEM. Last week I was in my car, waiting to turn left from Hwy 50 to Keys Blvd. Light turned, I started my turn, and a mountain bike came FLYING past me, on my left, shot straight across the roadway to the right hand side of Keys. It was like WTF??? I could have killed him, shorts, no helmet, no manners, no sense. Unfortunately, also no cop to give the rude so-and-so a ticket for an extremely illegal maneuver.
I forgot to mention, though it’s probably common knowledge, the average judgement in a lawsuit resulting from a dog bite is in excess of $75K. If you have no common courtesy or regard for others on the trail, think of your liability. There’s probably some liability for bikers as well but that’s not what this discussion is about. Those who blame the biker for his injury are obviously the dog owners we speak of here. I just don’t get it. Why can’t you keep your animal on a leash?
Steven- You mentioned “Should we now discuss sharing mt bike trails with motorcycles?” The Corral area has long been an area used by motorcycles that pre-dated common use by mountain bikes. If one were to be possessive about it, which I’m not advocating, it could be said that motorcycle trails are being shared with mountain bikes. Some of the trails that you may enjoy on your bike may have been created with the aid of a motorcycle.
There are very, very few motorcycle trails within the Tahoe basin. The number of a miles and trails open to mountain bikes far, far exceeds motorcycle trails. As a long-time local who hikes, rides both mountain bikes and dirt bikes and cares for the health of our lakes, I try my best not to cause significant erosion. A certain amount of erosion is bound to happen on hiking, biking, equestrian trails, and road cuts. In the last few years, numerous new trails (not open to motorcycles) have been created with the aid and support of the mountain biking community with some trails under the stewardship of the USFS. So, there are LOTS of trails that have no motorcycles on them. Indeed, the latest work on Lower Corral was a significant widening and disturbance of soils and was performed under the watchful eye and blessing of the LTBMU. These new trails don’t always exhibit state-of-the-art erosion control techniques.
The Tahoe basin is recognized as a multi-use area. I try to exhibit trail etiquette and it is, most times, appreciated. Sometimes I get the stink eye no matter how courteous I am. I try to ride early in the morning so that there are fewer conflicts. I’m hopeful that mountain bikers and motorcyclists have some civility out there so we can all enjoy OUR trails. That all being said, good luck with the issue of unleashed dogs.
Good point by ljames. Just a matter of time before a dog is shot by someone in fear for their safety or the safety of their kids. That’s the ultimate leash law enforcement.
There have to be areas where dogs can run off leash . Keeping a dog on a leash for it’s entire life is just cruel . It will never get enough exercise , no matter how long or fast its owner can run. And fenced in dog parks don’t work if you have dogs who want to run, not just wrestle with other dogs . Maybe we need to do what other town do and designate certain trails as off leash ? Then people who have issues with dogs can just avoid those areas … Mountain bike trails should be designated off leash though , it is pretty hard to ride with your dog on a leash ! Tahoe is traditionally a very dog friendly area ( except on beaches in the summer ) it would be sad if the area turned into another Boulder , CO where people call the police if you have a dog off leash ! I was told dogs can be off leash on all national forest trails as long as they are under voice control .
Letting dogs off leash is what fenced yards and dog parks are for.
When there’s an incident involving cars, the law requires an exchange of insurance and contact information. In California, driving laws apply to bicycles as well, in virtually every respect. It seems like common sense to exchange information after any incident that has the potential for resulting in damage or injuries that may or may not be obvious at the time of the incident. Where culpability is unclear, small claims court is a reasonable option for sorting it out.
I’m sorry Mr. Sweatt was injured, but I do think both he and the dog owner contributed to the incident.
I don’t understand why anyone who loves their dog would allow it off leash in a region that hosts coyotes. Bears and cougars are problematic enough, but coyote vs. pet dog is especially unlikely to turn out well for the dog.
Cops can’t be everywhere at once. Rules/Laws will always be broken, whether it affects your life or not. Get over yourselves… Sound like you just had an unfortunately bad afternoon. How many other times have dogs off the leash messed up your day? …
Know Bears, you are absolutely right! The coyotes take so many dogs here in Tahoe. . . even big healthy ones. Happens every week, yet the wildlife people still claim that it’s a ‘rare occurrence’. Not sure if they’re lying or just ignorant of what goes on here.
If you love your dog, keep it leashed.
Dogs are dogs… NOT people! They certainly have no “rights” on a trails where there may be people walking or riding bikes to be off a leash. What if this story was written by a kid? Dogs “lunging and barking” at a kid?
To Bob Sweatt and the rest of the community. Yes, dogs must be leashed, but they, the dogs, also need areas where they can run free and be, well…dogs! Running thru an open meadow, splashing thru the stream, chasing after squirells. Heck, my new dog,Buddy, has started barking at airplanes that fly over the house. Good grief, crazy damn Great Pyreneese dog!
So Bob, I’m glad you’re okay and just a little banged up and not seriously injured.
I would urge dog owners to be a bit more responsible so incidents like this don’t occur more often or at all.
Even on a leash some dogs can be a real handfull. I know this as I’ve expirenenced it myself as has Catlapper. You get an 80 pound dog that makes a run at a skate boarder, bike rider or even a damn Chickaree… hold on tight, because when that dog hits the end of its leash, you better be braced, because either you get a dislocated shoulder joint or your’e going down to the pavement, getting all scraped up with a crazy dog tied to your wrist!
For you that don’t like dogs …well you’re entitled to your opinion . Me? Animal lover forever, always have been, always will be. Hope your’e well Bob . OLS
Go ride a mountain bike park if you don’t want to deal with the un-expected! And just because you have a friend that is a dog owner doesn’t mean you know anything about being an owner!… If you want to complain about every time you crash your bike then go ride somewhere where you have other people to pick your whiny ass up and help you load your bike into your car (prob a 2wd grocery getter)… Oh and I hope you don’t cut yourself carving your piece of wood and then blame it on someone else!..Shut up whiny people!!
Wow, I had no idea there would be this many bike bashers chiming in here as well as just some bitter people.
I’m not going to stoop to responding to all of your wacko scenarios or defend what I was doing, the bottom line is “these dogs should have been on a leash”. Had they been on a leash, I wouldn’t be hurt and all of you wouldn’t be giving your 2 cents here. For those of you who thrive on reading your own comments, don’t bother responding for my sake, because this is the last time I will be looking at this thread.
Arod. Some of the replies on this thread are not “remarks” they are insane.
There are about 4.5 million dog bites in America per year; most bites occur from the family dog. Dog bites are highest in the 5 to 9 year old age range.
Most States have leash laws; California and Nevada do not. California is County by County. El Dorado County has a leash law “Owners of dogs are required to keep their dogs confined to their property or on a leash at all times.”
Bob ~ I’m so sorry. That sounds like a painful & expensive injury! I’m also sorry for the community as you are one of our best volunteers, especially around the Tallac site. Now I’m worried, selfishly, that you won’t be able to help me with the Coastal/Meadow clean-up next month.
I keep my dog leashed for a couple of reasons (besides it being the law): she quits hearing if there is something to chase, from a chipmunk to a coyote & she doesn’t pay enough attention to cars.
Unleashed dogs & people who don’t “pick-up” after their dogs get dog friendly areas taken away from all dogs. There are only 3 areas around SLT where I can take my dog to the beach. It doesn’t take many complaints to create more restrictions at the lake & on trails.
It is mentioned because the two dogs were unleashed it caused you to “flip head over”. What would the difference have been if you came around one of the “narrow, blind corners” and the owner had them leashed? Did you hit these dogs which caused this to happen or try to avoid them? Did they bark at you or bite you? Sounds like you swerved to avoid them (good), but that would have happened anyway. The dogs didn’t bite you, they were barking. Dog do tend to do that. They can still bite on a leash too. You have recourse if someone’s dog actually does bite you, but my goodness, what will you do if a coyote bites you or howls at you? Time to get a grip folks!
If only one life is saved, bicycles should be banned and outlawed.
Bikes go too fast on trails anyways. Go ride your bike in the state park where dogs are supposed to be on a leash. Maybe this guy shoukd look up all recreation uses before he targets one user. Bikes have the most negative impacts on our trails. Stay in the city or go there if you can’t handle the variables of being in the mountains and being in our home tahoe. We already have minimal access with our dogs everywhere here because of the uptight tourists. I’d call this maybe a dose of karma :)
Copper. Spoke stick? Talk about out of control, that’d be attempted murder
Um Rain. It’s because if the dogs are not on a leash and they bite somebody they (owner and dogs) automatically loose in courts of El Dorado County.
There needs to be controls put in place for mtn bikers via signs and trail obstacles to keep their speed down. If a bike hits you it can kill you. While biking they should not be going over 5mph on blind areas and should not be even moving when passing by hikers. You should not be at the mercy of an out of control biker and have to jump off the trail to avoid being hit. Lets improve this for hikers safety before someone is injured or killed.
Waaaah!!! I crashed my bike and take no responsibility for being out of control.
Don’t excuse your bad behavior by pointing out someone else’s bad behavior. There’s plenty of blame for both parties.
Signs in the woods won’t help. We have to look at enough signs cluttering up the highway (that nobody reads anyway). Why would we litter the woods and trails with them too?
People who have no common sense or courtesy won’t pay attention to the signs even if they’re there. No sense ruining the experience for everybody else by making them look at ugly reminders tacked up in nature.
What if you had come speeding around a blind corner, and hit head on with another mountain biker going up the trail and both of you got seriously injured? What if Grandma had decided to go for a walk that day. Think about it. You are a very lucky man. Count your blessings.
I’de have to agree with the author – dogs should always be on a leash anywhere the law requires or non- dog owners are enjoying Fed or State property.
Those of us who aren’t dog owners have just as much right to enjoy our trails and nature without constantly being confronted by other’s poorly trained dogs acting protective or aggressive. If their dogs aren’t harassing you on the trail they’re chasing every living animal you came out on a hike to see.
I carry pepper-spray now for situations where I feel threatened, and I WILL use it ( not necessarily on the dog )
Furthermore, Dog owners should be fined heavily if they don’t actually clean up their dog’s crap and haul it out to a trash container !
Every Tahoe dog owner has at least two dogs that are off the leash the minute their car door opens.
I love well behaved dogs that aren’t inflicted upon me, and who’s owners are considerate enough to keep them contained.
Loose dogs can cause serious er meant damage, the law is the law! I have suffered severe permanent damage from a very large loose dog. In the end my medical/dental bills are going to exceed $50,000. Should have sued! Obey the LAW!