Dog owners asked to lead by example

By Tania Martin
A COCKATOO woman has called for dog owners to be more diligent in keeping their dogs on leads when walking around the town.
Helen Collins said there had been several occasions recently when she has taken her dog Simba for a walk and encountered unleashed dogs.
Ms Collins said the main area of concern was at the Alma Treloar Reserve in Pakenham Road.
“Dogs can be so unpredictable and it’s just not safe to have them off leads,” she said.
Ms Collins said on one occasion she walked past a person recently who had two Rottweilers that were on leads, but minutes later she walked past them again and found them off their leads.
“I then had to find a different way home as I didn’t want to walk past the unleashed Rottweilers as I didn’t think it was safe for Simba,” she said.
Ms Collins said she was concerned that there were a number of new people in town who were unaware of the dog leash laws.
She said it was important for dog owners to understand the risks of letting their animals off their leads in public places. “All it takes is one incident for a dog or person to get seriously injured or killed and that would devastate a family,” she said.
Ms Collins said a lot of people don’t realise the dangers of leaving their animals off leads.
The Shire of Cardinia’s local laws department introduced the dog leash laws in July 2000 which means that dog owners are not allowed to have an animal off its lead when walking outside their property boundary.
These laws were introduced after a number of dog attacks.