Where, Oh, Where?

Today, at the first river crossing on the trail, I saw a "poster", which was placed over the ghastly bureaucratic warning sign "Do not cross trail when flooding". I didn't expect a flood, but I certainly read the poster. Someone was missing a dog. It was not long before I realized that about a mile of the trail was festooned with these signs, someone's plea for their dog.

I'm not specifically a dog lover, but my heart went out to those unfortunate people BUT....did these people lose their dog on the trail? If so, why? There are frequently placed official signs on the trail describing "Trail Etiquette".

Are there people who feel that the rules of etiquette were not meant for them? Surely the rule that all dogs should be on leash was not meant for their dog? I took several photos of the posters, because they seemed to be placed in prominent places, but often, to my unsympathetic mind, to be placed to the inconvenience of other users of the trail.

The final straw seemed to me to be the one placed on the caution sign! I've heard people remark that the "steep hill" was not really steep, but that seems to me to show the same insensitivity as that of the lady who thought it would have been a good idea to build steps on "killer hill" (on a completely different part of the trail).


The portion of the trail downstream from my house is completely wheelchair accessible, and I see no reason why physically fit people should think the trail should be specifically for them, any more than I see any reason why "killer hill" should be made hazardous to cyclists by putting steps in the trail! That caution sign is no place to advertise for lost dogs! There may be those who agree with me, because, you'll notice that the poster is torn, although not completely removed. Could that tear be a sign of contempt?

I was happy to see, as I drove out to T'ai my Chi this evening, I noticed that the dog lovers had apparently regained custody of their little darling, because there was written across one of the posters "FOUND". I'm happy for them, but I'm surely going to be looking on the trail, to see if these inconsiderate doggy lovers have cleaned up their offensive posters.