Ed Lines: Dog leading me astray

My dog's been leading me astray
Looks like I have a confession to make - my dog and I have been breaking the law.
I took a call from ENL boss Keith Thompson yesterday, in response to my agreement with an Advocate texter that dogs that weren't on leashes in Mair Park are a pain in the butt.
ENL hold the animal control contract with Whangarei District Council.
Anyway, yesterday I had admitted walking our family dog up Parihaka and encountering dogs that weren't on leashes.
Not to mention steaming fresh dog droppings. Either that, or the Parihaka possums are huge.
Keith politely pointed out you cannot walk a dog on Mt Parihaka. It's a $200 fine if you do.
The riverside tracks that head right and left from the Mair Park bridge - yes. But don't go up the hill.
I had no idea, excuse the pun but I had just followed the lead of other dog owners.
Keith also informs me that ENL patrol at least three times a week in Mair Park, keeping an eye on any errant dog owners.
Cheers, Keith - I have been warned. No more walking the dog up Mt Parihaka.
* Let's stick with canine matters for a moment.
I received this delightful well-meaning text this week.
"Pitbuls are double jointed. If u can pull its front legs behind its back without it yelping its a true pitbull."
If a stranger wandered up to me to check my bloodlines by yanking a limb behind my back, I know what I'd do.
It sounds like an interesting, quirky fact. I'm not sure if it's true, but please, don't go randomly grabbing dogs to test this out. You'll get your arm ripped off.
* Sadly, the fact that our harbour is polluted seems to attract a fringe element of protesters who are doing little to aid the work being done to stop the harbour being polluted. They were evident when harbour pollution became a big local issue a year or so ago, and someone thought it was a good idea to drop a bucket of raw sewage in the council foyer. All that did was debase the voice of the people with a genuine concern for the harbour, and a genuine desire to work on getting something done about. The shock tactic wasn't necessary then and it's unnecessary now, with the hysterical claims that harbour pollution has somehow caused deaths in Whangarei. Sadly, two people died recently due to links with a land-based norovirus outbreak. It had nothing to do with the harbour pollution, and claims that it did are wrong, and do nothing to aid the prevention of future norovirus outbreaks or harbour pollution.