"My dog wouldn't..."

Mike from Paraparaumu

Dear dog owner, I am a member of a small group of volunteers, ‘Friends of Kaitawa Reserve’, who help the Council look after the Reserve; weed-busting, planting and general maintenance.
When I see a dog running free, I politely introduce myself to the owner and point out that there is a good reason that there are signs at every entrance stating that dogs must be kept on a leash. The good reason is that the bush is dotted with poison bait stations and if their dog finds and eats a dead poisoned mouse, rat or stoat, that will be Fido’s last meal. About half of the owners immediately leash their dog and the rest say, “Thanks, but that’s OK – my dog wouldn’t.”
With respect, unless you are keeping visual contact 100% of the time and your dog is highly trained to instantly obey voice commands no matter the distraction and temptation, like a police dog*, then you are speaking on behalf of your animal erroneously. Every dog, whatever the breed and no matter how small, is genetically 99% wolf. All canines share the powerful instinct to hunt but they also are natural scavengers [see ‘Island of the Sea Wolves’ on Netflix – the typical wolf diet is mice and scavenged meat] and their sense of smell is up to 1,000,000 more powerful than ours [Google it]

So, again with respect, the likelihood is that your dog would. So please keep your loved pet on a leash when in the Reserve. Thank you.

*Q] What’s got four legs and an arm?
A] A police dog

Woof, Mike