Patagonia is a dog-walking town. It is also a town that doesn’t much care for regulation. When it comes to dogs, some folks feel that—just as was the case 50 years ago—they should be able to let their dogs roam freely and should not be burdened with the bureaucracy of licensing or I.D. tags.
Dogs who have made unprovoked attacks on people or their dogs have been reported in our pages with disturbing regularity since we began publishing nearly five years ago. In nearly all cases, the fault lies with the owner, who has allowed the dog to get loose. In 2010 an article described the frustration of a woman whose dog was attacked by two dogs on Second Avenue. It took weeks before our then-chief law enforcement officer, Ed Dobbertin, did anything, and then it was only because the victim appealed to the mayor. Penny Shellenbarger, who was attacked by a pit bull while riding her horse on Pennsylvania Avenue, says, “There were pit bulls roaming the streets, and no one was doing anything.” An elderly woman she knew had stopped taking her daily walk because a dog belonging to Penny’s neighbor routinely came after her when she passed the house.
Four years later there are still vicious dogs in Patagonia, and they do get loose from time to time, but things have improved. Last year, the Town Council devoted long hours to amending the town code pertaining to animal control, requiring greater accountability from dog owners.
Improvement is also credited to Marshal Joe Patterson and his deputies, who are more responsive to complaints and are making a greater effort to enforce the town animal codes. But Marshal Patterson says some victims find the prospect of confronting their attacker’s owner intimidating. Without a victim who can give a clear description of what happened, there is not much of a case to be made. “Everyone wants to complain,” Patterson says, “but very few want to stand up in court.”
Some residents would like to see the town adopt stricter laws and a dog licensing requirement that might keep better track of dogs and their rabies shot status, and perhaps might encourage people to have their pets spayed or neutered by charging higher fees for unaltered dogs. However, Vice Mayor Andy Wood, who notes that “Dogs have been part of the fabric of Patagonia for years and years,” feels that such measures might not solve the problem. “A lot of people aren’t going to be able to afford those fees,” she says, adding that if a dog gets too expensive, people might put it down or set it loose.
The advice from veteran dog walkers? Avoid streets that are known to be frequented by loose dogs. And, if you or your dog is attacked, and you want to prevent it from happening again, report it promptly and follow through on your complaint. If town residents actively support enforcement of the animal code, it will go a long way toward making lax dog owners aware of the problem.