BOZEMAN — An incident occurred on Wednesday, July 10, where a woman walking her dog allegedly ended up getting bear sprayed in the face—all because a dog was off leash.
According to court documents, at around 9 p.m. Wednesday, a woman was walking her puppy along Magenta Road, just south of Four Corners when an unleashed dog ran toward the woman and her puppy.
The woman was reportedly carrying bear spray and sprayed the dog as it aggressively charged her and her puppy. That's when, according to court documents, 41-year-old Kasey Keller ripped the bear spray out of her hand, sprayed her in the face and eyes, and screamed, “How do you like that!”
The condition of the woman and her puppy is currently unknown. Keller appeared in court Thursday morning, charged with assault with a weapon.
This incident raised the question of how important dog leashes really are. I walked around Gallatin County Regional Park and asked some dog parents if they usually keep their fur babies on a leash.
“It's safer for her,” says one woman, explaining why she keeps her dog on a leash.
“Depends on where I am, to be totally honest. If I’m in the middle of the woods, probably not. If I'm around here, until I get to the dog park, he’s on a leash,” says another woman.
Gallatin County Regional Park provides a dog area where dogs can run around leash-free. Other than that space, dogs must be leashed at all times, according to Bozeman's leash laws.
Malina Luly, a Bozeman Police animal control officer tells me, "In Bozeman, pets must be leashed at all times when on public property unless they are within the boundaries of a designated off-leash park".
The incident from Wednesday night occurred in Gallatin County, where leash laws are slightly different. So I also spoke with Gallatin County Animal Control, who told me in public areas, dogs must be leashed or within voice control.
Animal Control confirmed with me, though, if your dog does not respond after calling it once, that is not voice control and they must be leashed.
And the reason? Luly says, "Keeping pets leashed prevents accidents and injuries, allowing for a positive, pet-friendly environment for all."
Which is a problem that occurs more often than you may think, considering one Bozeman veterinary clinic told me they see injured pets coming in from off-leash animal attacks all the time.
I asked one dog owner, “Are you ever worried about other dogs?”. She told me, “Sometimes. The dogs that are off-leash in areas that are supposed to be leashed are sometimes a problem”.
And I asked one man, “Why do you think it’s important to have a leash ready?” He told me, “Because sometimes you need it”.
