As you know, Summit County is, for the most part, a dog friendly place. Many events allow un-leased dogs. I just read a recent article, “Copper Mountain leash laws approved by Summit County Commission. The article contained several statements from those that support the law and those that don’t. The thing I always hear from those that don’t support leash laws is, “My dog is voice and sight-command trained and I don’t walk him on a leash.” Under normal circumstances this may be true. Let another dog hit on your dog, a child touching without the dog knowing it’s coming, a wild animal crosses it’s path and I can assure you the loudest of voice and sight-commands will have no affect. The other thing I hear when a dog bites, “he’s never done that before.” Probably true in some cases but not others.

I pulled the article below from the internet. I’m sure there are many other articles regarding this subject.

I have a feeling most dog owners have no idea what their liability might be should there dog bite someone. All there assets could be at risk.

Recommend the Summit Daily take a look at the potential liability our dog owners have and write an article. The slant on the article should not be scare tactics but informative.

Jim Ernst

Silverthorne