This letter is a plea to all who let their dogs off leash in public. 

I was joyfully riding my bike down on the Blue River recpath in Silverthorne today when a loose dog shot onto the path in front of me. I could not stop in time and hit the dog and crashed. The owner came up from the river saying “sorry” but what good does that do when you are scraped from head to toe? Luckily nothing was permanently damaged, but I could have flipped my bike over the dog and broken my neck! I told the man that and asked why wasn’t the dog leashed. He informed me that he was letting his dog swim in the river and had no idea he would run onto the path.

Isn’t that the point of a leash? Because dogs are animals and owners have “no idea” what might startle them or excite them. In all my years here in Summit county I have seen loose dogs bite other dogs (including my own), knock people down and scare little kids as well as adults. So, please, keep your dogs leashed at all times in public.