A North Vancouver woman is calling for increased awareness from dog owners after being bitten on a leash-optional trail in Lynn Headwaters Regional Park. While the dog's owner apologized and ensured the dog was leashed, the incident left the woman shaken and fearful of future encounters with off-leash dogs.
A North Vancouver woman is urging for more awareness from dog owners on trails after being bitten in a popular hiking area. Around midday on Sunday, Natalia Trotman was on a usual run through Lynn Headwaters Regional Park. After deciding to head down a leash-optional trail, she spotted a family with a dog walking off leash ahead of them. Trotman said she ran off the path to go around them. But then the dog — a Jack Russel terrier — ran toward her.
She’s used to dogs jumping up on her while running, so Trotman said she slowed down to avoid tripping on it. Then she put out her hand, and the dog bit her thigh, she said. The dog’s owners immediately apologized and put the dog on a leash, Trotman said. A woman responsible for the dog came up to her, expressing compassion and offering her phone number should Trotman want to get in touch. Still in shock, Trotman moved to the side of the trail to check her wound. At first she thought it might not have broken through her leggings, but it was worse than she first expected. “I could just lift up my pants a little to look down, and I saw, like, a ton of blood,” Trotman said. “So I was like, OK, yep, definitely broke through the skin.” She crouched down. “Then it just hit me. So I started crying,” Trotman said. The dog owner came to comfort her further, but Trotman collected herself and said she could make it home fine on her own. However, to make it there she would have to pass many more off-leash dogs. “Now, I have those same dogs that were running up to me before, where I’d be like, ‘This is annoying,’ but now I’m crying, shaking and terrified,” she said. While Trotman is healing, the incident has left her with a swollen gash in her leg, and a new fear of passing through that area. The part of the trail where she was bit is designated as leash optional. But according to Metro Vancouver, which owns Lynn Headwaters Regional Park, dogs must always be under control — on or off leas
Dog Bite Trail Safety Lynn Headwaters Park Leash Laws Dog Owners
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