WASHINGTON – A disturbing video of an unleashed dog refusing to leave a deer alone in the Rock Creek area is calling attention to the enforcement of leash laws in D.C.
The video shows a black dog nipping and barking at a four-point buck in the Dumbarton Oaks area of Rock Creek Park in Northwest over the weekend. District resident Peter Silverman captured the video and says at one time, two dogs chased the rattled deer, according to ABC7.
The two unleashed dogs chased a deer about a half mile until they reached a creek in Rock Creek Park, Silverman tells ABC7. While one dog calmed down, the other jumped, barked and attempted to bite the deer in the creek.
During the incident, several people shouted for the dog to stop, but it wouldn’t listen. Eventually, a woman managed to grab the dog in the creek.
The deer, injured and bleeding, crawled onto the opposite bank and ran away, Silverman says. He tells ABC7 he called animal control, but had to leave before anyone came out.
The deer’s condition is not known and its body has not been located, ABC7 reports.
Rock Creek Park requires all dogs to be on leashes within the park area, according to the Rock Creek Park Superintendent Compendium. It goes on to say all park visitors must comply with D.C.’s leash laws.
According to D.C.’s municipal regulations, the only time dogs can be off a leash is when they are in D.C.-sanctioned dog parks. The law says no person “owning, keeping or having custody of the dog in the District shall permit the dog to be on any public space in the District … unless the dog is firmly secured by a substantial leash.”
Also under the law, the leash must be held by a person capable of managing a dog and the length of the leash can’t exceed 4 feet long.
A Park Police representative says the agency is investigating the incident and will provide more information as it becomes available.
Watch the ABC7 video below:
Below is a map with the general location of the incident:
View Larger Map
Follow @WTOP on Twitter.
