Vigilanty Bird Watcher Harrasses Young Mother and Her Dogs

I woke up this morning, like most mornings. I got Addi dressed and fed and loaded Addi and the dogs up for a morning walk by the river. This morning I was not greeted by the songs of birds or the sound of the rive. This morning I got a different sort of greeting.

I pulled up to the Tower Street river access off of 3rd Street. A place I have been talking my dogs on off-leash walks for several years. A place I frequent at least once a week. In the parking lot was a lone minivan and a nice looking gentleman standing in the parking lot taking a picture of a bird. I parked my car and sat there for a minute or so until I saw the bird he was photographing fly away. I then got Addi out of the car seat, said, "Hello." to the nice looking man, locked up my bag and let the dogs out of the car. This is when the nice looking man looked at me and scowled and said, "Shouldn't you have those dogs on a leash?" I nicely replied, "No, they are just fine." Well he proceeded to harass me saying I was breaking the law and I should have my dogs on a leash and ya-dah-ya-yah-dah-ya-dah. I understood the trail was an off-leash trail. My dogs weren't bothered by this man scolding me. They were off doing their sniffing of the perimeter and their morning potty business. I tried to ignore the man and I followed behind them picking up three fresh piles of poop and responsibly disposing of them. He then proceeded to take a picture of my car and license plate, a picture of me and pictures of my dogs and my little daughter. Ok, buddy this is where you crossed the line. Still calmly, I asked the man to stop taking pictures of me and my daughter. He rudely replied, "Look lady you on are on public land I can do what I want. Now get those dogs on a leash." I said, "Ok, if you won't stop taking pictures of us then I will just call the police." He told me to go ahead. I dialed 911 and told the operator this was a non-emergency and proceeded to tell her what had happened. I told her I felt harassed and threatened and to please send a patrol car. Meanwhile, the man walked to the trail-head signs looking for it to say leashes were required, however he did not find that. As I finished up with 911 the man made his way out of my view and I suppose went walking down the trail.

I loaded the dogs back into the car and sat and waited for the police officer to show up. A few minutes later the nice cop lady called me and I explained to her what had happened. She said she was on the way and to stick around if I wanted to but to have no further contact with the man. She showed up and we had a little talk. She said she wasn't clear on the leash laws in this particular area as she also walks her two labs at the same spot off leash on occasion. She was very nice and thought the man was just a "crotchety old bird watcher who gets mad when the dogs scare away his birds." I am sure she was right. But me and my dogs have as much right to the trail as he does. Even to think I waited until his precious chickadee flew away before I released my beasts! The nice lady cop "advised" me to leash the dogs the first 100 feet or so as to not bother people in the parking lot and to check with Parks and Rec on the exact leash laws. She also said to notify her immediately if I see the man again or see his car drive past my house. Creepy.

I left this area and Addi and took the dogs just down the road to the 7th Street river access. We had a nice walk and met a huge dog named Riley who played and played with Mason. The nice cop lady called back and said she spoke with the gentleman and he said he had no intention of using the photos for anything other to prove I had my dogs off leash. He also lied to her and said he didn't take a picture of my car, that he deleted the one picture he took of me and that I didn't pick up the poop. She "advised" me to please pick up my dogs poop, which I did!!

Sounds petty now that I write this little story. I even apologized to the nice cop lady for coming all the way down for something so petty. But she said, "Please don't apologize, that is why we are here." She also said you never know when some small encounter can lead to a big arrest of a big, scary, stalker, raper person. She was very nice and professional and I was happy I called. I am very protective of Addison and living in Salt Lake next to the drive-by shooting drug dealers has made wary of every stranger, nice looking or not. Paranoid, maybe. But also safe. I am always watching my back. Someone wise once said to me, "Watch your back. Don't become a victim." And when I say he once said to me, I mean he tells me about every time I talk to him!!!

He may have been just a crabby old man, but he is also lucky crabby man. Lucky that Dylan or Sara wasn't with me to give him a few not-so-nice replies to his rude accusations and lucky I called the police instead of my very protective, AR-15 packing father!!!

What really bummed me out is that this experience is what you find in the big city. Crabby people out to ruin everyone else's day. Big city mentality is leaking into our small, happy, weird, friendly city. Pretty soon the safe, secure, home-town feeling will be extinct. I feel robbed of my sense of security to go walk my dogs at this access free from harassment. I probably will not go back.