BruceJuice

Do you think there is any value in reporting something like this to the police?

Commuting to work today, and I see a guy with his dogs on the platte river MUP in Denver, off leash. So I slow way down to like 3mph seeing big and little dog on one side, and owner on the other side, yea this looks like trouble. And of course, the poodle does what poodles do, it runs right in front of me and I get around it safely. But as I go around I'm shaking my head and say to the guy "Dude, need a leash. You know, if a bike were to hit your dog, it could kill it!". To this he responds "Yea? AND I'LL KILL YOU!". Wow. I was so dumbfounded all I could respond with was "What? are you serious?" but just really wanted to get away from this guy.

What would you do with this sort of thing? Shrug it off? Report it? Stop riding on MUPs?

mikeybikes

Shrug it off. There's plenty of crazy people on Denver MUPs. I don't slow down for any of them. Just go past them.

hairyman

I'd report it. The police should know about someone who's threatening to kill you.

genec

Shrug it off... those poodle owners are known already to be a bit "off."

chipcom 

Dude, you threatened to kill his dog...or at least that's what he thought you were saying because he was probably as alarmist and thin-skinned as you seem to be from his reaction. Blow it off.

Cyclist0383

+1

What's to report here? It's not like he threatened you out of the blue.

MTBLover

Yeah, really. If the OP had just said something like "use a leash" and left it at that, without the reference to killing dogs (a really, really sensitive subject here in Philly, BTW), you would have made your point. A lot more effectively.

Dchiefransom

Was he wearing a Peta or HSUS jacket?

gcottay

Nothing of any interest here. Ride on.

Chilled

I get much worse threats from my ex all the time.

Standalone 

I got a lot worse tapping on a dangerous red light running driver at a stoplight today. Dude tried to run me off the road for a third time, then got out of his car and chased me screaming obscenities.

In his eyes, you did threaten to kill his poodle...

Dogs without leashes is akin to bikes w/o brakes, imo. [flamesuit]

Digital_Cowboy

If possible, I would have tried to take his picture with a cell phone, and then yes I would have reported him to the LEO's. If nothing else a report would have been on file about him and what he said.

Digital_Cowboy

How do you get that the OP "threatened" to kill his dog? He was warning him that with the dog being off of a leash and not under control that IF the dog runs out in front of A cyclist that the dog COULD be killed.

If what he said is accurate he did NOT "threaten" to kill that or any other dog. Just stated a plain simple fact. And considering that the guy's dog wasn't on a leash when/IF it does get struck and killed by a cyclist the dog owner won't have a legal leg to stand on IF he tries to sue the cyclist for damage to his dog. As most if not all U.S. cities/counties/states have regulations requiring dogs to be on a leash. Especially in public places like being on a MUP.

chipcom 

Go back and read what I bolded for you. Reading is your friend....really.

CFXMarauder

Id report him just for having a Poddle..

wheel

no video didn't happen

Digital_Cowboy

PeTA doesn't believe in keeping animals as pets. Their motto is "better dead then a pet." Think about all of the dog (or whatever) shows where people from Peta go and release the dogs (or whatever) into the "wild" where they end up getting killed by cars on the streets. IF they truly cared for the animals they wouldn't release them and put their lives in danger by doing so.

Nor would they go into labs and release lab animals who have been exposed to who knows what. I remember reading about one of their raids where they released a bunch of lab mice that had been genetically altered to glow in the dark. Now tell me what kind of a chance for survival did they have?

ritepath

always carry never tell.

SlimAgainSoon

Uh, you might want to avoid the word kill in any conversations with strangers.

unterhausen

think of every time a cager tried to explain their master's thesis to you while driving by. He heard "dog" and "kill" A lot of people have trouble understanding some very simple logical statements. Learn to deal with it.

cudak888 

A "poddle?"

-Kurt

crhilton

You're also telling him what to do (in his mind) which pisses some people off. It's probably better to yell something like: "[Insert city name] law mandates that your dog be kept under control on a leash." He'll get pissed at that too, but he won't have such a good comeback.

I suppose there is the small chance that your city is insane and doesn't require dog owners to control their dogs.

DX-MAN

Of course, there's always what I say to threats:

"B**ch, you couldn't take me if I helped you!"

jakub.ner

Bruce, not sure about where you are at, but in London all dogs must be tagged. You can report the owner through his dog's ID to the local animal control. I presume they'll care more about off leash dogs and an irresponsible owner than the cops.

longbeachgary

Don't let not knowing what you're talking about keep you from talking.