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Ask riders if they know anything about the house in question and most do. Many have stories about a German shepherd quietly waiting until a rider is adjacent to the property, then racing to the gate and barking madly. Depending on the horse and the rider, that can end badly, including with people being thrown from their saddles, they say.

Larry Emrick, a nearby resident with deep roots in the riding community, said the issue is really one of public safety.

“You don’t want to be falling off a horse onto the pavement,” he said. “As an elderly rider, if I fell off onto the pavement I probably wouldn’t get up.”

Photo by NICK PROCAYLO / PNG

He said he has personally had his horse spooked by Duke while riding past the home: “It’s pretty scary when your horse jumps into the side of the road or jumps into the ditch because the dog’s barking.”

Emrick said riders have had other incidents with other dogs, but in each of those instances parties have been able to sort the matter our among themselves.

Steven Scarlett, who was out riding his horse Hologram, said he has had lots of run-ins with Duke.

“We don’t take that route anymore just because of the dog,” he said. “A dog coming out of nowhere is very frightening.”

Now, Scarlett rides around the home using a nearby path that circumvents the property.

Kelsey Campbell, a horse trainer who was out walking Avi, a client’s horse, said she hasn’t had any problems with Duke. She said he’s a beautiful dog.

“The dog used to bark a lot. But I mean, my dogs bark a lot too,” she said. “Dogs bark.”

Kathryn Holm, Vancouver’s chief licence inspector, says the city doesn’t have a “number-of-strikes” policy for responding to dog incidents as each case is different.

“Dogs with continued or repeat offences are subject to escalated enforcement for each offence. Ultimately animal-control officers recommend steps which will help prevent future occurrences of this sort of behaviour by the dog, and will also be in the best interest of our residents,” Holm said.

mrobinson@postmedia.com