The Editor,
A message to dog owners: When walking your dog on a shared pedestrian/cycle path, it is advisable to err on the side of caution and keep your dog on a leash.
Around 1:10 p.m. on Friday, May 12, while riding my bike through Mundy Park, I came upon two women — each with a dog off leash.
One dog charged and bit me on the upper shin, breaking skin and resulting in — over the following 24 hours — swelling and a significant bruise.
The owner apologized, saying, “He's afraid of bikes.”
This begs the obvious question. Why would she have him off-leash on a shared path?
She is fortunate that her dog bit a 64-year-old woman as opposed to a child on a bike; that would be an interaction on an entirely different level with parents of an injured child.
I hope this dog owner learned a lesson and realizes the consequences could have been far greater for her and her dog.
Angry and bruised,
--Cindy Chilton, Coquitlam
