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FOUR SEASONS BREEZE | NOVEMBER 2017 57 THE IMPORTANCE OF KEEPING YOUR DOG UNDER CONTROL Some residents at Four Seasons, both with and without dogs, are now carrying canine tasers and stun guns for protection from unruly dogs. These are low powered devices, but can give a nasty shock to a dog. I have checked with Beaumont P.D. and they are legal in the city of Beaumont. There have been a couple of reported incidents and confrontations here at Four Seasons in the last couple of months. Generally speaking these devices do not cause permanent damage to a dog, but very little research has been done on this subject since it is a relatively new phenomenon. There is some indication that these tasers and stun guns could be lethal to dogs that are young, or elderly, or small, or ill. ALWAYS maintain control of your dog on a leash when out for a walk and meeting another pedestrian, with or without a dog. Both the person with the taser or stun gun and the other person are at risk when trying to separate two dogs in an altercation or someone trying to protect themselves. It may not be the dog that gets tasered, but one of the humans involved when trying to separate to wildly gyrating dogs. Keep your dog well away from other dogs or pedestrians unless you have been specifically asked to interact with them. Always keep your dog on leash and under control when outside your home both on the sidewalk and on the trails. It is part of the Rules at Four Seasons. It is required by ordinance in the city of Beaumont. It keeps your dog safer. Do not let your dog eliminate in a neighbor's front yard, even if you pick up afterward, to avoid a potential confrontation with an angry neighbor. This is private property and a neighbor's property should be respected. We recommend that the popular "extend-a-leash" NOT be used. We recommend a short leash of 4 to 6 feet be used so that you can maintain better control of your dog in all situations. Pack Walks (no extend-a-leash permitted): Saturday mornings, 8 am, Lodge parking lot; Wednesday evening, 6 pm, Summit parking lot. Info., Patrick Gerety, captain Dog Owners Group, dog_owners@yahoo.com. ~ Patrick Gerety D.O.G. Tails & Trails - All Pets Living with wildlife: Bobcats, coyotes, and lions, oh my! Please be sure to join us as Tails & Trails joins forces with Four Seasons Beaumont Neighborhood Watch to host Jeff Villepique, Ph.D., Wildlife Biologist with the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW). Jeff has worked for CDFW since 2001, when he began studying predator-prey interactions between bighorn sheep and mountain lions in the Sierra Nevada. He has decades of experience working to resolve human-wildlife conflict. Please join us on Nov. 8 at 10 am in the Lodge Ballroom for a special program on how to better co-exist with our wild neighbors and avoid some common practices that inadvertently encourage natural predators like bobcats, coyotes, raptors, and mountain lions. Jeff will present a 30-minute program and will be available to answer your questions. Let's make sure we all give Dr. Villepique a very warm Four Seasons welcome. Our November meeting for Tails and Trails will be at Nov. 29 at 7 pm (location TBA). Please join us as we continue our organizational and planning processes. Visit Four Seasons D.O.G. | Tails and Trails on Facebook or email us at fsbtailsandtrails@gmail.com. For updates, please consider joining our Facebook group, Four Seasons D.O.G. | Tails and Trails. ~ Martha Baumgarten

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