So dogs are a man’s best friend? Try telling that to some area hikers and trail runners, who argue that unleashed dogs on trails have become increasingly problematic in the Blue Ridge.

Last year, Asheville runners John and Donna Rouchard were each bitten by a dog named Cedar while jogging on the Mountains-to-Sea Trail along the Blue Ridge Parkway. It was the second time John Rouchard was bitten by an unleashed dog while running on national park trails. In late December, in an Asheville Citizen-Times editorial, Rouchard blasted “oblivious, irresponsible dog owners” for letting their pets run loose on public trails.

“The number of loose dogs has just skyrocketed,” Rouchard told BRO. “I’ve stopped going to (the trail where he was bitten), but the last time I was there, a couple had five unleashed dogs. I couldn’t believe it.”

Rouchard isn’t the only one frustrated by the increased number of unleashed dogs on the trails. Mark Lundblad, an elite trail runner and co-owner of Tortoise & Hare Running Outfitters in Asheville, has been attacked by dogs many times while running, including a recent episode where two boxers chased him up a chain-link fence until neighbors came out to assist.

“What you normally get if a dog comes after you, the owner will say, ‘Oh, they’ve never done that before.’ That’s the answer you always get when (the dog) either pins you against a tree or bites you,” Lundblad said.

Even when a dog is friendly, Lundblad added, the hesitation and anxiety created when an untrained dog is on the loose can spoil a relaxing outing in the woods.

Who’s to blame? It’s not all the dog owner’s fault, says Roy Burley, a mountain biker and owner of two excitable trail hounds, Dixie and Mendo. Burley believes that trail responsibility lies with dog owners and non-dog owners alike. Trail users who act frightened or defensive can trigger an aggressive response from dogs, he says. He would like to see more education and effort directed at trail users to respond appropriately around dogs.

“If mountain bikers or runners encounter a dog off leash, why not just pass the dog and owner slowly to alleviate the pressure of the sudden encounter?” Burley suggests.

Out West, overcrowded trails have prompted land managers to designate specific trails for dogs, horses, and mountain bikes. Burley and others believe that dog-specific trails could work in the Blue Ridge, too.

Yet even on the dog-friendliest of trails, an unleashed dog, besides being a potential nuisance and a danger, is also against the law. North Carolina’s Buncombe County adopted a leash law in early November, following a highly publicized case one month earlier in which a five-year-old boy was mauled by a pit bull in Candler. Other counties and municipalities throughout the Blue Ridge have similar leash laws in place, or are currently considering adopting them. The National Park Service also does not allow dogs-period-on the backcountry trails (leashed dogs are allowed in developed areas).

“[Chief Ranger Jim Northup] thinks we have a large problem (with policy violators),” says Nancy Gray, media relations officer of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. “Dogs harass wildlife that we are mandated to protect, and it disrupts the visitor enjoyment of the quietude for those that are in the back country.”

Of course, dog owners want to spend time with their pets while enjoying the outdoors, and also give the dog some exercise and freedom. Even Rouchard and Lundblad say they can understand and appreciate that. So what’s an owner to do?

On a recent Saturday morning at the French Broad River Park in Asheville, many owners were walking their leashed dogs on riverfront walkways, while a steady stream of people and their pooches headed to the Asheville Dog Park-a large, fenced-in area within the main park where many dogs were gleefully chasing sticks, or playfully chasing each other. “It’s a good thing,” said Tom Williams, 45, who brought his dog Samwise to play that day. “He loves running around with the other dogs.”

Unfortunately, it’s the only dog park in the area. Kate Bakko, who works as a full-time veterinary assistant and groomer at Fletcher Animal Hospital, is originally from Wisconsin and said there are many, many more dogs parks in the Midwest.

Bakko has a unique perspective on the leashed-dog issue. Owner of five rescued dogs whom she walks regularly at DuPont State Forest, Bakko is a stickler for keeping her dogs leashed while out, or within the confines of an invisible fence at home.

But one day in November at DuPont, Bakko let her English Springer Spaniel, Misty, off her leash while Bakko photographed High Falls. The dog took off on a scent, and she has been missing ever since.

“I have learned my lesson,” said Bakko. “It’s hard to share the trails, but we need to do it. And people need to be responsible.”

-Gary Glancy