Interesting story in today’s Examiner, which tells the story of Logan Circle resident and dog owner Daniel Greenberg. Greenberg likes to let his dog off its leash inside Logan Circle, even though the practice is against city code. He was caught with his dog off-leash by an MPD officer back in May, and was actually arrested on criminal charges — even though the D.C. Council has passed legislation that makes having a dog off its leash only a civil offense.

According to Greenberg, the problem stems from the fact that D.C. has two laws on the books for the same offense: a old criminal regulation dating to before home rule, and the more recent Council measure. The officer who arrested Greenberg followed the old law, and now Greenberg is facing a fight to have his criminal record based on the incident erased. A vaguely similar story happened to deputy White House Press Secretary Dana Perino’s husband, Peter McMahon, in May, though in that case McMahon was arrested after mailing his $25 off-leash fine to the incorrect address. The Examiner story states that D.C. Council Member Jack Evans has pledged to clear up the confusion in the fall.

There has long been a war between D.C.’s dog owners, who have organized web sites, listserves and online petitions over the last couple of years to demand more places where local dog owners may let their pets roam off-leash, and non-dog owning residents, who are usually parents of small children and claim that off-leash dogs can and do terrorize them in parks around the city. Where do you stand in the doggy wars? Note that you can give more than one answer on this poll.

Photo by Eye Captain