There’s a different feeling in the air here in Ocean Beach for dog owners since the Feb. 9 incident between a pit bull and a small dog that left the small dog dead and turned a beautiful Saturday afternoon at Dog Beach into a tragedy for both the owner and our community. Although we all know it’s a rare occurrence, I can sense owners of both large and small dogs are feeling the effects. I was on the jetty that day when I first heard something had happened. A lifeguard had stopped and told a lady who had a small dog to keep her dog close because a small dog had been hurt.
It wasn’t until I saw the evening news that I found out a dog was killed. This really shook me up both for the owner of the dog that was killed, and in thinking it could have been my dog just as easy that day that I could have lost. Later that day, I noticed when walking my dog around the block how people with large dogs were quick to tell me that their dog was friendly as I picked my dog up before passing them. [My action was] partially in fear of what happened and because, although my dog is small and has no teeth, she can be just as responsible in provoking a dog into defending itself. The incident [at Dog Beach] just reminded me of that. It made me sad to now be afraid to walk my dog on Dog Beach since the reason I moved to this area was because of the dogs’ beach. I was always careful before. I stayed a foot away from my dog, but even then I had a few close calls with large dogs chasing each other so fast that my dog would freeze like a deer in the headlights as I swooped her up just in time from being trampled.
So after this happened, I thought, “What if they made a designated area for just the small dogs?” I know it’s not foolproof, but neither is the jetty that separates the dog side from the regular beach. It’s up to the owners to retrieve them if they cross over. At least it would minimize small dogs from [being exposed to] fatal accidents, give them a place to run around with fewer chances of larger dogs accidentally running over them or provoking a dog [after which] one bite could prove to be fatal.
Besides the pleasure of living next to the dogs’ beach, I have found out what a great community we have here in Ocean Beach. The people watch out for each other, clean up after their dogs and pitch in to do beach cleanups. I am very proud to have lived here for three years.
I know it’s rare that a tragedy like this occurs on Dog Beach, but just like any other tragedy that occurs in life, it’s an even bigger tragedy if we don’t try to learn from it and make changes for the better. And in knowing this close community, we can, and should, be open to discuss any new possibilities toward any safety issues here in Ocean Beach. I don’t know how to go about making an area designated just for the small dogs, or the rules and red tape that would go with this proposal, the cost, or what we could use as a barrier. I’m only a woman who loves to walk her small dog on the beach. So I’m bringing this issue to our wonderful community in hopes that together we can make the changes so that all dogs ” large and small, all breeds ” can run around on the beach and be as safe as possible.