Yesterday, a good friend and neighbor was walking his dog (a black lab puppy being trained as a service dog) next to my home when another dog attacked. The attacker was not on a leash - his owner was using Jonathan Common Property as a personal dog run. The attacking dog crossed the street, entered my property, and attacked the puppy. This is why we have leash laws in Chaska. You are not allowed to exercise your dog off-leash on public property. The City of Chaska ordinances, Chapter 5, Article II, Division 1, Section 22 states: "Confinement of animals. It shall be unlawful for any person owning or having the charge or custody of any dog to allow such dog to run at large within this City at any time, whether or not such dog is registered, licensed and numbered. This restriction shall not be deemed to prohibit the appearance of dogs upon the streets of the City accompanied by an owner or members of his immediate family, when such dogs are on a leash. The police or animal contract officers of the City may take up and impound any animal found at large in violation of this provision, and shall deal with said animal in accordance with the provisions of this article. (Ord. No. 210, Sec. 4, 2/27/73; Ord. No. 281, Sec. 3, 6/18/79) " The owner of the attacking dog was cited for leash law violations, and the responding officer filed a "dangerous dog complaint." But, this never should have happened. Not only was a very well-trained puppy injured, but his owner and owner's daughter were extremely shaken up by the complete and utter lack of respect for the law shown by the attacking dog's owner. I encourage you to call the Chaska police at 952-361-1231 any time you see a dog running off-leash within the city limits. If you see a dog that appears imminently dangerous, call 911. This incident could have been much worse - the attacking dog could have seriously injured the puppy, or it could have attacked and killed a small child. If you own a dog, please be a responsible pet owner - keep your dog leashed, and clean up after the dog when it uses property other than your own as a restroom (yeah, that's a law, too). -Katie Tierney