Go to most parks in Bend and you will often see two things: 1. Signs cautioning people that dogs are not allowed off leash. 2. Dogs off leash.

On some days, in some on-leash parks, it’s easy to find more off leash dogs than on.

Why does it happen?

It’s against the rules. The fine for an off-leash dog in Bend can conceivably be as high as $750. That’s when things get ugly. For more routine violations, the fine is less than half that.

Bend police officers do not spend a lot of time chasing after the dog-owner brand of scofflaws. At least from the records the department provided us after a record request, they focus on the most serious incidents. They do also just talk to dog owners and maybe issue a warning.

In the last five years, the department has issued 54 tickets for animals at large and 33 for no dog license. Those were all warnings.

It has also issued 7 tickets for dogs out of control in off-leash areas and one warning. That’s Bend Code 5.20.030. Those tickets can go up to $750.

The Bend Park & Recreation District can take action, too. It does, on occasion, exclude people from parks for repeated behavior with a dog or an aggressive dog.

“Exclusions are maybe once a yearish,” Joel Lee, park stewardship manager for the district told us. “Often we will get reports of an aggressive dog and we are not able to make contact with them or to follow up with police because someone will report it after the fact.”

The park district has six park stewards in the summer. It has four for most of the year and a lot of parks to cover. Stewards don’t arrest people. They can’t write tickets. They come armed with pamphlets showing off-leash parks, explanations and friendliness. They explain to dog owners the why.

“It’s all in the approach,” Lee said. “I think most of the time if we can explain the why behind the rule it helps a lot more than just explaining that it is a rule. Not everybody is comfortable around dogs.”

Parks stewards find themselves dealing with off leash dogs at most parks they go to. And mostly they do get good compliance after a conversation. If there is real trouble, they call the police.

In parks, there is sometimes bridge jumping. There is sometimes drug use. There can be excessive noise, people drinking alcohol, people riding bikes recklessly and so on. And among the range of complaints, complaints about off leash dogs are up there, Lee told us.

People love their dogs. We love our dogs. Of course, we know why so many people ignore the rules. Love clouds judgment. And the risk seems low for letting a dog off leash where it is not supposed to be compared to the joy and exercise it gives the dog.

Bend has some great parks. We can’t and shouldn’t expect the police or park stewards to protect them from all mischief at all times of the day. We have to count on each other.