09/02/2025
A few days ago, after our shift, we witnessed a concerning incident that questioned dog owner responsibility-and serves as a good lesson for parents.
A family out for a walk-two adults, presumably the parents, and three young children, estimated to be about 4, 6 and 10 years of age.
The 6-year old was holding the leash of the family's 55-60 lb dog.
When the family arrived at an intersection (off a busy Rt 109), they stopped to wait appropriately for the crosswalk signal.
During the wait, the youngest child displayed typical child-button -pressing enthusiasm, and soon enough the 6-year old joined her, fully distracted from the dog of which he was 'holding' the leash with his other hand.
As the crosswalk indicator flashed to proceed, the parents and the eldest child began to cross the street, appearing presumptuous that the other two children (and the dog) were following behind them; however, the young pair was still engaged with 'the button'.
The dog, understandably not enjoying being stifled by the pole activity, saw the rest of the family nearly on the opposite side of the street, and pulled away from the 6-year old, darting out into the street, narrowly missing being struck by an SUV which was approaching the intersection. The young boy appeared unphased with a casual 'oops' body/shoulder expression once he realized the dog was no longer next to him, and turned his attention back to his sister and 'the button'.
Parents, we understand that children often ask to hold the leash of the family dog, however, children often lack maturity, attention span, physical strength, competence, multitasking skills, risk assessment, awareness of surroundings, and understanding of a dog's behavior and the unexpected actions the dog may take-and therefore, their hand may not be the best hand to be at the other end of the leash.
To prevent incidents, adults should always supervise children with dogs or handle the dog themselves.
Additionally, both adults and children should understand that dogs often behave very differently when outside of the home and property.
Public leashwalking by a child should only be considered after the child has mastered all of the above criteria, and after such has been practiced with affirmed competency in a controlled environment.
A motor vehicle accident, a dog fight, a bite or even a simple knockdown, can cause serious injuries to both dogs and humans. And fault for such incident may very well fall on the family- as 'control' is just as important and lawful as is 'leashed'.
[Image: a child being pulled by an uncontrolled dog]
