you all see this story about lady leashed to dog getting killed?
 

this sucks!!

https://abc7news.com/woman-dragged-sf-bart-tracks-dies-powell-station-dog-leash-tethered/11020255/

the dog is okay.

Wow, crazy. When it's your time...

Why tether yourself to a dog?

Well she won't be doing that again.

I've seen lots of young ladies doing it and I can see the appeal for several reasons.
I've seen petite women walking strong dogs. From a certain point of view that seems safer. Obviously, there's at least one situation where it seems like a bad idea.
https://www.playtimepetsitters.com/w...DogHiking1.jpg

if i leashed my dog to my belt, Hank would hurt me. dumb squirrel and i am going for a ride.

i wonder if anyone could have gotten to her fast enough with a pocket knife..that train takes off a decent moderate pace right at the beginning.

It is a tragic situation, but who would be in a position to cut the leash? Very unlikely.

Now the thing is, if those were commercial building doors, they would have broken away (opened).

Look for ramifications from this incident.

Being tethered to a dog inextricably is an absolutely terrible idea. I didn't even have to hear that story to form that opinion. I also do not like those long cable or rope leashes that retract like a fishing line, those suck. Also dangerous.

When I had my dog, I only had a 4' leather or woven nylon leash. He never needed to be further from me on a walk and if we were somewhere dog safe, I'd let him free range.

Suicide?

I hope the dog is ok.....probably choked a bit when dragging the lady.

I can think of about a thousand easier and cleaner ways to accomplish that. This was a tragic accident, a moment of absent mindedness that cost someone her life.

My guess is that it should have been pretty easy to squeeze a clip and release the dog. The problem is if you're suddenly pulled off your feet, and you panic, you may not think about "pinch the clip" as much as your brain going "FACK! FACK! FACK!!!!"

I also don't think that the retractable leashes are a problem as long as you get the right one. Some (many/most) have a short nylon web ribbon connected to a metal ring that then connects to a relatively thin line. I think those are a bad idea even for someone like me with an 11# mini dachshund. There are also models with various lengths of extension (10', 16', 26' seem to be the most common).

In my opinion, the best bet is to get one where the entire reel is a flat nylon ribbon, basically just a flat nylon leash on a spring loaded reel. And don't get one too long, especially with bigger, stronger dogs.

It drives me nuts when I see someone being pulled along by a dog. I've also seen where a family has something like a 10 year old girl walking a 50, 75, 100# dog. That seems like an accident waiting to happen. I'm sure there are some dogs that mind well enough to be perfectly safe under those circumstances. I suspect those dogs are the minority, like comparing HS rock bands to the Stones or Aerosmith.

I had an retractable leash for our dachshund. It was a 16' leash. At 11# I could have let him get a running start and run to the end of the 16' and not lost control, but if he did start to run, I was also able to squeeze the trigger and lock him up before he built up a head of steam.
https://cdn.etailpet.com/media/publi...89_AAF7XKU.jpg

with our 35# dog, I had something similar, but it was only a 10' model. She was fast, and I didn't want her to have much runway if she spotted a squirrel or whatever.

Lots of things went wrong here. The article says that they think the dog was not a service dog. A service dog likely would have made the retreat. And pet dogs are not allowed on BART except in a kennel.
The train operator is present for exactly this reason. How could they look down the side of the train and not see the person?
As far as improvements go, I never understood the totally unattended trains and stations BART has. It isn't a wonder the system is the wild west and a total dump. A conductor on each train would go a long way. I read something about "ambassadors" on BART trains as a new thing, hopefully that's a step in the right direction.

Tethering the dog to you is pretty common, but you have to be careful where you do it. In the field or open walkway, no problem. But when on a bike or in traffic etc., keep it where you can let go of the dog. Better it than you getting hurt.

He may not have been able to see the leash going into the door.

I told my wife and she said she would not do it even with a French Bulldog as it would hurt her back if he lunged at something.

I bike ride with my dogs. I have a firm grip on the leash with one hand, but I will let go of the dog before it gets me injured or worse. It is an animal, and a cat bolting across the path or a sudden urge to go #2 making it stop in its tracks could rip me clear off the bike. Same if you are on a walk with a big dog. You need to be ready to let go of it, the dog may get hurt, but that's better than you or both of you.