Editorial: Adventures in urban dog walking

By Theresa Donnelly

Six months ago, I adopted an adorable 6-year old Boxer mix named Lincoln — also known as “Linc” — from a rescue organization.

Linc is my love and captured my heart for many reasons. He’s calm, affectionate, playful, nondestructive at home and if I’m running late, he’ll wait for up to 12 hours to be walked.

However, he does present one large challenge: He is not friendly to other dogs.

Knowing that dogs with his behaviors may face euthanasia unless a rescue picks him up or a patient dog owner comes through to adopt, I understand the enormity of the responsibility I take on daily to keep him and other animals safe.

There are dogs everywhere in Downtown San Diego.

This can make city life tough to navigate with him at my side, but with the help of two dog trainers, a muzzle, a prong collar and ensuring consistency with regards to his leash manners, I’m making it work.

In time, I hope Linc’s sensitivity to other dogs will decrease and I’m slowly working on that. Our three walks each day to and from the park across from the Convention Center has given me a first-hand look at dog walking etiquette across the pet community spectrum.

I find the majority of dog owners polite and understanding when I hold Linc close to my side, veer around their dog, and even cross the street to avoid a dog-on-dog conflict. But occasionally, there are those pet owners completely oblivious to city laws and my polite requests.

The San Diego city code states that, “If you walk or otherwise bring a dog to public or other private property (where dogs are permitted), you must restrain the dog by a hand held leash, not longer than 6 feet in length.”

Yet, there are a number of owners Downtown that fail to follow this law, putting their dogs and other dogs at risk.

I recently spoke with Stephen MacKinnon, chief of humane law enforcement for the San Diego Humane Society and SPCA, about his recommendations if pedestrians spot an off-leash dog.

“I’d be concerned about anywhere where there are dogs running and it’s a busy street,” MacKinnon said. “Besides some people are very fearful, where they absolutely freeze and run across the street. That’s not fair to them. This is definitely a safety concern.”

He also said if someone feels in danger, come to a full stop, use hand signals, and politely ask the person to leash their dog. If that fails, call the police and make a report.

I have seen people with retractable leashes not paying attention and letting their dogs wander across a busy sidewalk.

I believe a little bit of vigilance and respect can go a long way ensuring everyone has a safe dog walking experience.

A last point to consider is that if my dog were to bite a dog that approached him, I’d be liable for the injuries, regardless.

MacKinnon said that if a particular neighborhood is having a problem with this issue [unleashed dogs] to please call the San Diego Humane Society and they can do extra patrols and take measures to educate that community.

I’m very blessed to live in such a dog-friendly community, but with that privilege there comes a responsibility to ensure we can walk our pets and feel safe while doing so.

Taking a few simple precautionary measures can ensure our communities are inviting places for our four-legged family members.

—Theresa Donnelly is an active duty naval officer who in her off duty time volunteers as a district leader for the Humane Society, helping with animal protection policy issues on a national and statewide level. She recently adopted a rescue Boxer and lives Downtown.

Editorial: Why you need to take the Senior Affairs Advisory Board survey

By William Kelly

San Diego’s adult older population is a rapidly increasing percentage of the city’s residents.

Recent professional studies at the city, county, state and national level duplicate the warnings of a looming national aging crisis that cannot be ignored.

The older adult population is increasing fastest in the western U.S., and lacking proper planning, shortfalls in available, accessible and affordable housing, health care, transportation and underfunded social safety nets will soon negatively impact the quality of life in every age group and neighborhood.

San Diego’s Paul Downey, a widely recognized authority on aging, reported that one out of four homeless San Diegans is aged 60 or greater and the number of San Diegans over the age of 60 will double by 2030 to one in four residents.

The Elder Index also tells us that two out of five [40 percent] seniors lack enough money to meet their housing, food, health care and transportation needs.

Other sources show one out of every four adult San Diegans is currently caring for one or more senior relatives and that one out of four homeless persons is a veteran.

Our mayor and City Council are ultimately responsible for city policies, ordinances, laws, projects and budgets impacting all San Diegans. The City of San Diego Senior Affairs Advisory Board (SAAB) was given the responsibility of informing and advising them of the needs of older adults as they carry out that responsibility. Recognizing both the diversity and commonality of each City Council district, SAAB is visiting each district and conducting an anonymous 10-15 minute voluntary survey of adults aged 49 or greater.

The geographic, economic, financial, cultural, social, physical and mental health, family and other factors of San Diego’s diverse population are what determines the priority levels of concern for each of us, younger and older alike. Accordingly, there are no one-size-fits-all strategies to address the challenges before us.

The information being collected will underscore older adult priority concerns down to the neighborhood level. Mapping the results and overlaying that map with one of existing transportation, shopping, medical care facilities, services, programs, recreation/entertainment facilities, and housing inventory and costs will highlight deficiencies by neighborhood and district.

As a result, your participation in the survey is critical to achieving viable San Diego solutions that identify and address the challenges.

San Diego can and is attempting to head off a potential human disaster; but government, nonprofits, businesses, community organizations and SAAB member volunteers cannot do the job without the valuable information you provide by completing the survey.

Help us help you and each other. Take the survey.

Remember: Our community can heed the warning or wait until we reach crisis levels requiring more drastic and expensive measures that could negatively impact the lives of every San Diegan.

Thank you for your participation.

For cost and time efficiency, please take the SAAB survey online at:

English version: surveymonkey.com/s/SeniorAffairs

Spanish version: surveymonkey.com/s/SAABenEspanol

If this is not possible, request a paper copy by calling 619-236-6362 or writing:

Office of ADA Compliance
Attn: Senior Survey
1200 Third Ave., Ste. 924
San Diego, CA 92101

For more information about SAAB, visit their website at sandiego.gov/saab.

—William Kelly can be reached at [email protected].