I recently had an experience during which my neighbors did not have control of their large dog and it was chasing me down the road.

When I stopped the car to control the dog, it jumped on my car. I discovered the dog had no collar, so I had nothing to grab to control it.

The issues, as any responsible dog owner could see, include:

* Dog could get hurt or killed if it gets hit by a vehicle.

* Dog could get hurt or killed if it fights with other animals.

* Dog is illegal — it is not on a leash, as the law requires, and it displays no tags.

* Owners show no consideration to those around them.

* Dog is stressed out because it doesn’t understand its boundaries.

In addition, I incurred property damage and stress because of the dog’s irresponsible owners.

Anyone who is a caretaker of a dog should accept their responsibilities for the dog’s sake and for the sake of others.

People often think they have total verbal control over their dog, but I have found this to be far from the reality,

Mike Swanholm

Readfield