HikeArizona.COM

Please read below the encounter I had at Peralta TH, yesterday. I post here, as a warning, because I believe this is not, will not be an isolated incident. I believe there are others that this man has bitched at, maybe you, or could be you in the future. I have also attached a profile image, the best my hiking partner could capture.

On Wednesday, December 27th, my hiking partner and two dogs were finishing up a hike at Peralta trailhead. The area close to the signs was crowded with many adults and teenagers. The first person we came into close proximity to, immediately began to inform us, “dogs must be on leash at all times.” Seeing that Ozzie and Leo were leashed I was taken aback as to why this person was telling me the law, and using very aggressive body gestures and tone, to do so. Adrenaline began to pump through my system and I made the bad decision to engage this man in discussion. The “discussion” was one sided as this individual had no desire to let me talk or listen to me. He kept up his rant repeating many times, in different ways, “dogs must be on leash at all times.” I asked him who he was, as I couldn’t imagine a Forest official or volunteer would talk to me in this way/tone. His response; “I am god.” At one point he yelled “get your dog away from me, nobody wants to be molested by your dog.” Ozzie was standing where he was standing, because this man chose to engage us in a verbal berating. While he yelled this, he made a sweeping motion with his foot, towards Ozzie. If he touched my dogs, I felt I might lose it so Steve and I walked over to my truck. He kept up his rant and I returned with Ozzie’s AKC Good Citizen certification, hoping this would calm him down. Again, he did not let me talk, so I walked away. He kept up his rant and Steve approached him to take his picture. More words were exchanged and this man told Steve “you dog people all go home at night and F$%^ your dogs, that’s what you do, you go home and have sex with them.” Then he started yelling at Steve, “no, I will not go home and have sex with you, I don’t want to have sex with you, leave me alone.” At this point, Steve returned to my truck and the situation ended. download/file.php?mode=view&id=7848&sid ... 76dc4ae58b

Did you report the behavior to a forest service or law enforcement official?

Sadly there are those that are wired different.

@chumley
I have a call into Tonto NF, Mesa office. Left a VM and they haven't called me back. Looking back, I should have done some things differently, like calling law enforcement right then and there.

@Metalrunner
I always thought God would be in better shape and not wear a stupid hat.

@Metalrunner
I always thought God would be in better shape and not wear a stupid hat.

@Metalrunner
Indeed, this is/was a law enforcement matter-FS Law Enforcement or County Sheriff. It really doesn't matter that it was at a FS trailhead or not, as Alston says, someone's wiring of messed up.

Metalrunner wrote:The first person we came into close proximity to, immediately began to inform us, “dogs must be on leash at all times.” Seeing that Ozzie and Leo were leashed I was taken aback as to why this person was telling me the law, and using very aggressive body gestures and tone, to do so. Adrenaline began to pump through my system and I made the bad decision to engage this man in discussion.

Yes, I agree, it's easy to say this in hindsight... however, the best response would have been to respond, "Thank you,I'll be sure to keep my dogs on a leash." and simply walk away.

Metalrunner wrote:I returned with Ozzie’s AKC Good Citizen certification, hoping this would calm him down.

Sorry, I might be a bit slow, but by this time did you not realize this guy was not someone who could be reasoned with?

It sounds to me he's a guy who has a bad day every day and is just looking for somebody to aim his rants at... and you happened to be the one to give him that opportunity to sound off.

Again, the best course of action is to simply walk away.

Metalrunner wrote:Ozzie was standing where he was standing, because this man chose to engage us in a verbal berating.

No, you chose to Engage after he made a Comment... By Engaging him and Challenging him, you just made his Agitation worse. It was apparent that he had a Problem with Dogs, but you decided to keep your Dog near him.... Once you realize that someone is not all there, you make 1 of 2 Decisions... You walk away and stay away or you Engage the Person in an Attempt to HELP them... Not Argue, Challenge or anything else. Doing so can be a Recipe for Disaster and create even more Problems... Law Enforcement would not have been able to do anything unless the Person was threatening Physical Harm to another or breaking some other sort of Law. I suppose you could have gotten him for Disturbing the Peace, but all that does is get him away from that Location and make it some one else's problem somewhere else... He would most likely never pay the Ticket or show up in Court.... But it certainly would not have hurt to call LE and at least let them know the Circumstances and Situation.... Best to just walk away and not throw Fuel on a Fire that's already Burning... As long as it's not Out of Control....

@outdoor_lover
Jeez you make it sound so adultish. Can't I just tase him?

If he would have touched my dog, I would have beat his pumpkin right there.

@Tough_Boots
Gluteus pin cushion huh?
Is that similar to the British for arse?

@Tough_Boots
Believe or not, there are People that don't like Dogs or are just simply Afraid of them. A Responsible Dog Owner will understand that and keep their Dog away from them instead of insisting that their Dog be right there. If I expressed a Displeasure about a Dog and the Owner simply wouldn't get it away from me, you can bet that if I didn't kick the Dog, I would most certainly kick the Dog Owner. Or I would just walk away, but in the Case of this Person, he wasn't all there, so.... If he was kicking at her Dog, after he already expressed Displeasure about it and she did nothing to remove her Dog from that Situation, that's the Dog Owner's Fault, not the already Disturbed Person... It's your Duty as a Dog Owner to Protect your Dog and with that comes not Exposing your Dog to a Situation like that in the first Place....

CannondaleKid wrote:It sounds to me he's a guy who has a bad day every day and is just looking for somebody to aim his rants at... and you happened to be the one to give him that opportunity to sound off.

this
doubt it had much to do with the dog
always fun to second guess the OP

outdoor_lover wrote:Believe or not, there are People that don't like Dogs or are just simply Afraid of them.

Yup, my dad was deathly afraid of dogs, which, to a certain degree I took advantage of when I was very young... if he was about to give me a lickin' over some misdeed of mine (nothing of any real consequence, ya know...) my dog would get between us with a low growl and my dad always backed down.

@Alston_Neal
Tasing? The OP was probably lucky the scary guy didn't have a taser, or even a gun. A guy with an attitude... with a gun... next he'll be heading to Las Vegas 'cuz he don't like loud country music.
Just sayin'

A situation easily deflected if desired. Let him tangle with someone else and just watch for fun. I hope he's not there tomorrow when some of you are, for his sake.
Maybe his name is on that sign?

I wonder if the guy ever stumbles across the HAZ forum. If so, he should be happy with all the professional psychiatric evaluation and advice he's been given. It's a huge money-saver for him!

outdoor_lover wrote:If he was kicking at her Dog, after he already expressed Displeasure about it and she did nothing to remove her Dog from that Situation, that's the Dog Owner's Fault, not the already Disturbed Person... It's your Duty as a Dog Owner to Protect your Dog and with that comes not Exposing your Dog to a Situation like that in the first Place....

Okay, then I would have put my dog in my vehicle and then come back to kick his pumpkin.

My OP was a warning, this guy is out there and you may be his next target. His problem wasn’t about my dog(s), they were on leash and I was not in violation of the rule/law he kept referencing. My dogs are passive and Ozzie, being an AKC Good Citizen is proof of his temperament and me as his guardian, a person that is very involved in making sure a harmonious relationship exists between him and the public. You being his next target, you come equipped knowing the man is mentally ill and your best course of action is to keep walking to your car and go home. I know this too well, my mother was mentally ill and sometimes dealing with her was like talking to an aggressive drunk and she was sober. I will admit, I’m as sharp as a marble so didn’t diagnose this man as mentally ill until Steve told me, he had said I “F^&* my dog at night.” Until that point I had diagnosed him as just one of the 1% that gets enjoyment by being an A-Hole to others and thought I could reason with him. I would have walked away, immediately, if I had that (mentally ill) diagnosis prior to hitting the trailhead.

As I said above, this is a warning, was not about my dog(s) and I shouldn’t have given him the time of day. That said, you may be his next target for what ever “reason” he is using that day, maybe he thinks you dropped a candy wrapper or maybe he thinks your group size was too big or believes you are carrying out a rock or native plant. You have been warned of his metal state, don’t engage him and if you have a dog with you, do not walk past him at the trail head, even if that means using an off-trail option to get to your car.

@Metalrunner
Sorry for the HAZ drama! There's always a couple people out there that don't like dogs and don't recognize basic courtesy and compromise as enough to satisfy their offended sensibilities.