A Plea for Respect and Tales on Ice

I have debated whether or not I want to put these thoughts in words, but for the sake of others I am going to.

This morning I went for a mild, winter hike at Babcock Woods in Waverly. I was only a short distance up the trail when I heard noise behind me. A quick look back identified the sounds as a dog approaching me. When I stopped, the dog stopped in an alert posture. The dog’s person (not handler) called the dog back where I thought she was going to put it on a leash as the park rules/sign state. Apparently that did not happen or if the dog was leashed, it did not last long.

I continued my hike and was about 2/3 of the distance back to the forest/prairie trail. Suddenly the same dog ran past me then stopped, turned around, and ran right at me. I yelled at the dog and swung my monopod at it to prevent whatever was going to happen. The person who brought the dog (30-50 yards behind) was pushing on the dog’s remote collar and making it beep, but the dog was not reacting. Eventually, after I yelled “Git!” and swung my monopod at the dog, the dog ran back in the woman’s direction at she was saying something like “Don’t be a naughty dog.” It took some time before she got the dog under control.

Folks think about this. What if I had been an older person out for a walk with nothing to protect with? What if I had been a kid? What if I hadn’t had my monopod to swing at the dog? I will tell you, had I not had my monopod with me, things would have likely gotten very uncomfortable in that timber for that dog.

Dog owners who cannot follow the rules must understand there are those of us who have been traumatized by dogs in our pasts. If you want a dog, then be respectful of others. Leave it home or keep it on a leash. Follow the directives on the signs. Do not make me feel like I have to take strong action to avoid an attack. Do not force my hand to end a threat. And do not begin to tell me the dog was friendly. If it was friendly, you would not have been beeping the collar that did not help or telling it not to be naughty.

When I reported the incident I mentioned that a person should not have to make split-second self-protection decisions when walking at a park, especially when that person was not doing anything wrong. Especially when there is a dog park about 1/2 mile away. Please, be respectful.

For the record - There have been numerous complaints about dogs running loose at Babcock Woods and Ingawanis Woodlands. The patience of other users and nearby landowners is wearing thin. If you take your dog to either place, keep them on a leash or be prepared for restrictions or citations. If you don’t want to lose the opportunity to walk your dog on the trails, you might want to start following the rules. For those who already do… Thank you!

That is enough of my rant.

Had that dog owner been respectful I likely would have had numerous images from the pretty Babcock Woods. Other than this fungi image recorded before the rudeness began, I shot no other photos there. Nope… I left. So much for that hike.

Later I hiked a safer area along the Wapsipinicon River. On the ice there were several clam shells indicating a handful of meals for a predator. I wonder how often this happens and when I would need to be present to observe/photograph it.