If I was a mom with a dog in Manassas, Virginia, I'd be pretty pissed right now. If a proposed law passes, it means no more tasking the kids with walking the dog; it would be all up to mom and dad to take out Fido. The law would make dog walking an adult-only activity.
I've heard of a lot of crazy laws -- both proposed and on the books -- but this one is just doggone stupid. “At the other end of the leash, there must be an individual who is competent to control the animal,” a city council member told NBC.
So yes, they're serious.
We don't have a dog currently, but when and if we do, one of the biggest reasons will be to teach my children responsibility. They will be able to feed the dog, clean up after her, and take her for walks come rain or shine ... unless we move to Manassas I guess. To take that chance at responsibility away and place all the burden on parents is a load of crap (pun totally intended).
If they must go into this territory, then perhaps they could set a reasonable age limit -- like you must be older than 5 to walk a dog. But to say that even tweens and teens can't walk dogs is beyond ridiculous. Sure some may not be the most responsible and do less than a stellar job, but some adults shouldn't be out walking dogs either.
I just can't believe Manassas has enough bad child dog walkers that there needs to be an actual law. It sounds more like an overreaction to a couple of random incidents, as council members even admit it's not a widespread problem. Sounds like the biggest problem in Manassas is the sensibility of some of their council members.
Do you think children should be banned from walking dogs?
Image via basykes/Flickr
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Comments 96
this is just stuipd and this law should not be passed.
Ridiculous! Don't we say we want kids to get more exercise? Are there really that many dog attacks taking place because a child is not able to control the dog that this state needs a law in place to prevent more incidents?
I actually agree with the law to an extent. Many years ago my husband and I had our medium size terrier in our back yard on an airforce base. Two small children were walking a very large dog and the dog attacked my dog in our own backyard. My dog required stitches and could have been killed. Ofcourse the owner paid the vet bills. These children were much too small to handle this particular dog.
I can see why someone would want to pass a law like this. There have been incidents where kids under 100 lbs walk a 50 lb+ dog but those dogs have a lot of force and can break loose from their leash and attack somebody.
Heck, I used to have a 5 lb Chihuahua that, if I wasn't 100% attentive, would get excited and try to break loose from her leash. She was really friendly but other people don't know that.
Anyway, this proposed law might be taking it a little far but I understand the concerns. It would be less attacks which would be less lawsuits and euthanasia.
I totally agree with you. I have 3 teens & 3 dogs. What a ridiculous thing 2 try & get made a law.
I can see requiring the person walking the dog be able to control the dog, but there are many teen boys who are significantly stronger than me. My five year old likes to walk our sheltie, but I make sure I am in arms reach at all times because I know she isn't strong enough to control her, even though the dog would never hurt anyone.
I think that if there was some reasonable limits placed on this law it could actually make a lot of sense. I am a dog lover and former neighborhood dog walker (as a child). My Boxer is 70 lbs and incredibly powerful, and could easily drag a kid down the road if he were so inclined. My son is 65 lbs soaking wet and only walks the big dog while I am right next to him so I can control the situation, otherwise he walks our small dog that he can easily control. If people are turning ten year olds lose with a 80 lb dog and they come upon something the dog cannot resist (a rabbit or another dog) and the child is unable to fully control said dog, disaster and tragedy can occur. If I were out walking MY dog and a child were walking a dog that happened to be very dog aggressive and my dog were seriously injured or killed, who do you think would be held responsible? The person who could not control their dog, of course. This opens up a bigger discussion as to the age or strength of a child adn the obedience of a dog, which many times cannot be guaged just by the naked eye. A law like this would make it so children need to be a certain age/strength/maturity level to handle a certain dog, as well as making sure that people are supervising their children AND dogs properly.
The law says that the person walking the dog has to be able to control the dog. My six year old can control my pug but she would not be able to control a large rottie, so the way it's worded says that kids can walk dogs. That doesn't mean it would be enforced that way though.
It seems completly absurd. If your dog hurts someone then you're laible, no reason to make it criminal also.