Park Rangers Trump Dogs Without Leashes and Owners Without Brains

A pop-up RV pulled in on a weekday, when the park was relatively empty, and the campers, a father,  mother, and 3 kids, lost no time in getting set up before heading out to the beach.  The pop-up was small, and I wondered how 5 people could comfortably sleep in it; I’d owned one like it several years ago, and I knew that sleeping 4 in it was a challenge.  Several sites needed cleaning, so I went on with my work and didn’t give the new campers a second thought.  Later that evening, I noticed 3 or 4 a dogs running loose throughout the park. Seeing one dog unleashed is the usual situation, but seeing multiple dogs without leashes was something out of the ordinary.  I managed to grab two of the loose dogs and put ropes that we kept on hand for such situations through their collars; the other two dogs were skittish and ran whenever I got too close.  I followed them around the park for a bit before they made a beeline to the pop-up camper that had come in earlier.

As I approached that camp site with two dogs in tow, the barking of what sounded like a full chorus of dogs could be heard.  The door of the pop-up opened, and out spilled 5 other dogs, barking wildly, none on a leash.  The father yelled at the dogs to “Be Quiet!” which caused them to bark and howl even more furiously.  Three kids spilled out of the RV at that point and helped round up the loose dogs along with the two I’d roped and stuffed them inside of the pop-up.   The mother came out at that point and said she was so sorry that the dogs were making such a fuss, but that they were probably glad to get some exercise after riding for 6 hours in the car that morning.  I know my mouth was hanging open as I did the math:  2 adults, 3 children, and 9 dogs were staying in that one small camper.  The same number of people and animals had arrived in one mid-size sedan, too.  I warned the campers that dogs had to be on leashes when outside of the RV, no exceptions, just as stated in the blue park information sheet the father was holding.  The man told me that the dogs had NEVER been on leashes, and that he had no leashes.  He also said he didn’t want anyone my ropes on the collars of two of the dogs.  His wife assured me that the dogs wouldn’t leave the pop-up again while they were in the park.  (Oh, really?  Do you have a doggie toilet hidden in that rig somewhere?)  I could do nothing at that point because the dogs were in the pop-up, so I left after telling the campers that the park provided thin ropes at no charge for people who arrived without leashes.  You could have heard a pin drop.  I left.

Right at dark, I heard the growling, yipping beginnings of a dog fight not far from my RV.  I went outside to see if the dogs were in sight, and they were . . . about 6 of them.  They were circling one another in the grassy play area of the park that runs through the center of the back-in sites that form a large oval.  Every dog was from the pop-up camper that I’d been to earlier in the day.  I immediately walked to that RV to get someone to round up the dogs and give the campers a second warning about letting their dogs run loose in the park. 

No one was home.  The car was gone.  All nine dogs were surrounding me and barking furiously, throwing in an occasional growl that made me wish I were anywhere but in the middle of that mess.  I could do nothing about the loose dogs at that point because I was, at that time, the sole park representative on site.  I backed away cautiously and then hot-footed it to my RV to call the park rangers, who were about 2 hours away, as usual.  I knew that by the time the rangers arrived, the campers would be back and the dogs would be in the pop-up with them, and an on-site visit from the rangers would be the only result of my call to them.  How wrong I was!  The rangers arrived in an hour and 45 minutes; the campers were still gone.  The rangers went through the park for half an hour or so, trying to catch the dogs to take them to an animal shelter.  During the roundup, the campers finally arrived back at their site.  The rangers went over to talk to them. 

Do not pass GO.  Do not collect $200.  You were warned earlier today.  Pack up and leave the park. 

Two uniformed rangers trump 5 people and 9 loose dogs.  The campers were gone by 10:00 PM.