July 8, 2011Dear Sir,I am writing to you on behalf of The Dog Training Club of Bermuda (DTC) in response to Wednesday’s article in The Royal Gazette concerning dogs running off leash in public parks.The DTC would like to appeal to all dog owners to please abide by the laws pertaining to off leash dogs. Your dogs should be on lead at all times in public parks for the safety of your dog and the community. Your dog should never be allowed to run up to another dog or person regardless of whether you feel your dog is friendly or not. You cannot judge how the other party feels about your dog and it is imperative to the way dogs are viewed in Bermuda that you respect the feelings of others in the community. This includes always picking up after your pet.We want to remind the public that it is against the law to have a dog off leash in a public park or beach any time of the year. Dogs are not allowed on public beaches from April 1 to October 31.In light of recent incidents, the DTC will do everything they can to help support the government for a more favorable outcome and we encourage all dog owners to report abuses of the law. We do hope the Government will instead consider prosecuting perpetrators as opposed to banning the parks from all responsible dog owners.Hundreds of dog owners participate in DTC classes each year. We make it a point at the beginning of every class session to ensure everyone is aware of the leash law and we will continue to emphasise the reasons for this along with picking up after your pet and licensing.We would also respectfully ask non-dog owners to please keep an open mind and not allow their opinion of dogs to be skewed by the actions of a minority of irresponsible dog owners. There are many dogs in our community that regularly work with children, visit seniors and hospice patients, and those that play a vital companion role in families. We also have a large volunteer base that regularly take time away from their families to work in the community teaching owners to train their dog and encouraging responsible dog ownership.We believe the majority of dog owners heed the dog rules and should not be threatened to pay a price for a crime they have not committed.DOG TRAINING CLUB OF BERMUDA