The requirement to keep dogs on a leash is observed by most—but not all—visitors to national parks. A recent incident in Great Smoky Mountains National Park involving a pit bull and a deer offers a vivid example of one reason for the regulation.
"Leash laws" in national parks serve several functions: The regulation reduces the risk of conflicts when two or more dogs find themselves in the same vicinity; there's less chance that other visitors will be bitten when they try to pet a stranger's dog that doesn't want to be petted; children (or adults) aren't frightened or even knocked down by the enthusiastic but unwelcome approach of a large dog.
An additional concern for dogs running free in areas such as national parks is the potential for conflicts with wildlife. Every dog has its own personality and temperament, but more often than not, it's simply canine nature to chase another animal, and more than one owner has been caught off-guard when Fido behaved in a totally unexpected way when a wild animal arrives on the scene.
One of those situations had an unfortunate ending last week in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. According to information from park a spokesman, a pit bull attacked a deer in the park. The dog belonged to a man who was camped in the Elkmont area of the park when the incident occurred.
The deer was a mature eight-point buck that weighed about 130 pounds, and a wildlife biologist determined that its injuries were serious enough that attempts to treat it would be futile. The deer was euthanized.
The pit bull's owner was cited for failure to have his dog on a leash, and for destruction of wildlife. An appearance before a U.S. Magistrate on the charges is pending.
Another spokesman at the park said such incidents are fairly rare in the Smokies, and described another situation several years ago that illustrates the value in the "leash law" for protecting pets as well as wildlife. In that case the dog was riding in the bed of a pickup truck which was being driven through the Cades Cove area.
The dog spotted a black bear, jumped out of the truck, and headed for the bear, which was large enough that it wasn't intimidated by the dog. A chase ensured, and the dog became the prey, running back toward the owner, who had stopped his truck alongside the road. In this case, the pursuing bear reportedly broke off the chase when the dog ran into a group of people who had gathered to watch the action. That case fortunately ended without further incident for both the dog and the bear, but this one could have taken a nasty turn.
Finally, conflicts between dogs and skunks rarely end well for the dog—or the owners who are faced with the prospect of transporting their animal back home. That scenario shouldn't require any further discussion!
All of the above situations offer a good reminder: if you travel with a pet on your visits to a park, keep it under physical control. The regulation is for the mutual benefit of the dog, humans and wildlife.
Comments
I worked in a large metropolitan land based park system for four years. It was not uncommon to see signs up for lost dogs of the chihuahua variety. I'm sure great horned owls or coyotes made quick work of these animals. I guess the owner could be cited for feeding wildlife along with leash law violations.
A loose dog can pose a threat to its owner and others, particularly if it agitates a bear. I met a couple living in an isolated cabin just outside of Yukon Charley Rivers Nat. Preserve in 1978. Both the wife and husband carried severe scars resulting from a bear mauling. They had boated up the Yukon River crossing into Canada and were leisurely floating back home. They had a small dog with them. They stopped to spend a night at the fish camp of a friend. The husband got up early the next morning and went to the river to help empty the fish nets. His wife remained in the tent in her sleeping bag. The dog ran off to explore the surrounding woods. It apparently came upon a bear cub and gave chase. The mother sow moved in to protect her offspring and went after the dog. The dog fled heading back into the camp and ran into the tent where the wife was sleeping. The enraged bear shredded the tent and attacked the wife slashing her with claws and jaws. Her husband heard the screams and ran back into to camp. He tried hitting he bear with a broken tree limb. The bear turned and severely mauled him. By the time the owner of the camp arrived the bear had disappeared into the woods. Fortunately, the camp owner was able to get them into his boat and take them to where they could be evacuated. Moral of the story - keep your dog on a leash.
2 summers ago in Shenandoah a dog was injured when a deer kicked it. The owners were letting it chase a fawn and mama got a little angry about it. There was another case where a man was warned many times to put his dog on a leash but never did. The dog later ran right off of a cliff and died. The man had to climb down and collect his dogs body. The Chingoteague NWR finally ended up banning pets altogether because people just couldn't follow this simple rule.
Ranger Holly
http://web.me.com/hollyberry
Brilliant. Just what I want -- a 100-lb pit bull mix roaming unleashed in the forest with my kids. And yet people are frenzied over people with carry permits bringing (gasp) their guns with them. I need it to protect my child when this idiot's pit bull comes after us.
This does not surprise me. My husband and I have traveled to GSMNP for 35 years and there is always a number of people who just think the rules don't apply to them. When was the last time you read the headline that the owner of a pitbull was mauled by that same pitbull? I know that any dog has the nature to chase another animal, but I don't know of anyother breed that makes the headlines more often. As said above a small child could have been the target in the campground. While hiking the trails in the Smokies I have run into many people who have their dogs with them and when the dog sees me starts barking...a natural defense of his master. "Oh, he won't bite" the owner says....well, I beg to differ....he has teeth plus he doesn't know me and I don't know him. As a responsible pet owner please follow the rules for everyone's sake.
AT Hiker -
Your comment brought to mind an experience I had while hiking a trail in a park in Alaska last summer. In that location, the understory vegetation was thick and I was remaining alert for bears, so it would be an understatement to say I was startled as I approached a trail junction and caught the motion of a large black animal out of the corner of my eye. It only took a second or so to realize that the 4-legged beast headed toward me at high speed was a very large (and fortunately friendly) dog, but I could have avoided a test of my cardiac health if the owner had kept his dog on a leash!
I have to say that the pit bull is getting a bad reputation. No dog is dangerous to people unless it's taught to be. Pit bulls aren't anymore likely to attack a person than any other dog. The different with them is that they were bred to have very strong jaws and don't let go. This is why they're used in dog fighting. I've been around dogs my entire life and have never had a problem with a pit bull, but I have been attacked by a german shepard, a dalmation, and a lab. Any dog is likely to go after an animal though because they are hunters...hence the leash law in parks.
Ranger Holly
http://web.me.com/hollyberry
The moral of this story is **very** important, I personally have gotten tired of running other people's trouble seeking dogs off while I'm hiking in the smokies with my 3 german shepherd dogs (on leash).
However ... 100 pound Pitt Bull? Give me a break! I'm so tired of every Tom, Dick, and Hairy dog that I read about (causing trouble) being automatically referred to as a "Pitt Bull". I want to see a picture of this beast if he is truly a Pitt, because 100# is just astounding! I've trained and rescued/rehabilitated well over 90 Pitt Bull type dogs ... funny that I've never come across one this gigantic. Let's not do this breed any more injustice and just remember that a dog is a dog is a dog. Pitts are no more monsters than an untrained Labrador is a monster (and yes, I've met my share of mean-as-snake Labs), but they do unfortunately attract ill-intentioned owners as well as owners that do not have the skills to handle this strong, athletic, hard-headed breed (but think it would "be cool" to own a "tough" dog).
For the love of dogs, anyone with 1/2 a brain cell should be able to remember that the media is all about *flair* ... unfortunately for the Pitts, it's just not as flashy of a story when it reads "Retriever Mix Mauls So and So"