05/25/2025
I want to tell you a story about my sweetheart of a dog, Zoey. Zoey is 10 years old and loves everyone. She is gentle around every person, and she is especially fond of babies and toddlers. She had always gotten along with other animals as well, and she used to be best friends with a cat. She is a very sweet, loyal, and submissive dog.
A few years ago, she was attacked by a dog slightly larger than her while visiting family. He put his teeth on the back of her neck, snarling, and pinned her to the ground. Zoey froze in fear. I’ll never forget the look of pure terror in her eyes. My partner was standing next to them and was able to get him off of her before any serious physical damage was done.
But the experience has since caused her to be scared around dogs her size or bigger. She is not aggressive towards other dogs, but she is afraid these big strangers might attack her like the other dog did.
Despite this fear, Zoey absolutely adores going on walks, leashed and secured in her harness. Because of her nervousness around big dogs, we do not take her to dog parks; we take her to public parks and hiking trails in Colorado Springs where dogs are supposed to be leashed.
But on many occasions, we have been accosted by an off-leash pup, whether friendly or not, while their owners laugh at me when I sternly remind them of the leash law. One resident even said, “You can call the cops on me if you want!,” knowing that calling it in would not do anything about the situation, and so they can simply ‘get away with it.’
Zoey and I should be able to go on walks at public parks and trails without the fear of off-leash dogs invading her space, making her uncomfortable, or possibly attacking her or her owners. This is why I started this petition. (Read the full petition at www.change.org/springsonleash.)
We are having a HUGE community event on May 31st at Palmer Park to raise awareness of this issue and collect more signatures! We will have food trucks, ice cream trucks, photo booth, training demos, gift bag giveaways, an adoption event with a local rescue, and many dog-related local businesses! Please stop by with your leashed doggos and the family for a fun day at the Springs on Leash community event! The event page link is: https://www.facebook.com/share/1AgniTvaW5/?mibextid=wwXIfr
Event Vendors:
Saving Dobermankind
Cutie & the Beast
Pet Playcations
Mile High Paws, LLC
WeeBee’z Dog Treats
Unique Pawtensions, LLC
Rocky Mountain Spay + Neuter
Wistful Studio
Doggy N Styles LLC
Shadow & Sunshine Photography
Lexikatecreations
The Dog Stop
Scoopa D P**p Ltd
House of Dog Training
Trailer Perk Mobile Coffee Bar
Vintage Scoops
Frozen Fire
Taste Bud Rescue
