New parent rant: We were at a park today with my daughter (almost 2) and our niece (3 months). A man comes through without his dog on a leash. The unfenced off-leash area is nearby but he chose to not leash him in the playground area. The dog started running toward the 3 month old and we had no time to be polite. We surrounded our niece and I got in his face about how disrespectuful it is to not leash your dog. He didn't care. I grew up with dogs. I love dogs. Yes, some dogs are nice with kids, but some kids are afraid of them. When someone tells me their dog loves kids, I don't care anymore. Dogs are to be leashed in parks and owners need to keep them in the off-leash area.

Portland dog owners, respect others! And the rules. My daughter should not have a dog run after her in a Portland playground. My sister, who is a huge dog lover, told me to carry mace. That might happen. I will never apologize for feeling a human (especially my daughter and niece) is more important than a pet. Actually, it's the disrespectful owners that are the real problem.