It’s difficult some days to figure out which are the dog parks and which are the people parks in Dallas. So many owners are letting their pets run unrestrained in our city’s green spaces that the parks can be frustrating, if not downright dangerous, places for the rest of us.

The hottest hot spots for unleashed dogs are around White Rock and Bachman lakes, along with Reverchon, Griggs and Glencoe parks. The problem became so bad this year that Dallas Animal Services has been conducting regular patrols in those five locations.

It’s maddening that so many individuals think the city signs mandating “pets must be on a leash in this park” apply to everyone except them. Not to mention that Dallas has four designated off-leash dog parks, so chances are one of them is nearby.

The often-heard lamebrain excuse that “my unrestrained dog won’t cause a problem for anyone” is hard to stomach after hearing heartbreaking stories like this one:

East Dallas resident Virginia Whittington says walks at Lakewood Park, on the west side of White Rock, are the best part of her fluffy 10-year-old Ray’s day. On a recent August evening, as Ray and his longtime dog walker, Gregory Ferrara, trekked along, an unrestrained dog sitting about 50 feet off the trail bolted from his owner and, in a flash, pinned 40-pound Ray to the ground.

Gregory Ferrara wiith Virginia Whittington's dog Ray during a walk at White Rock Lake earlier this year. (Virginia Whittington)

Ferrara said Ray’s anguished squeals as he fought to get loose from the jaws of the attacking dog were the worst sounds he has ever heard. With the owner of the aggressive dog unable to subdue her animal, Ferrara finally put the dog in a chokehold to allow Ray to stumble away.

It was a nasty melee, with Whittington’s dog suffering a broken hip, among other injuries, meaning several thousand dollars in medical expenses and an uncertain recovery.

Whittington knows she’s lucky that she could afford Ray’s treatment. But she began to weep while trying to express what life is now like for the family pet, who was adopted from the SPCA as a puppy by Virginia and her recently deceased husband.

“My dog’s life has been so affected because what he loves most is his daily walks,” Whittington said. “For the many months my husband was ill, Ray wouldn’t leave his side except for those walks. It’s so sad that this has now happened to him.”

As Whittington considers her legal options, Dallas Animal Services is trying to prevent repeats of stories like this one.

Whether it’s dogs roaming the neighborhoods of southern Dallas or park-goers plagued by loose animals in the north, DAS director Ed Jamison says the real culprit walks on two legs, not four: owners ignorant of potential consequences — or too stubborn to care.

“That has to change if Dallas is going to progress,” Jamison said Monday. “The number one responsibility must be not letting your pet run loose.”

In recent months, DAS field officers have been staking out the five parks with the most reported offenders. Visiting at random times and up to seven days a week, they ticket owners of unleashed dogs and provide information about city ordinances related to mandatory spay/neuter, rabies shots and microchipping.

Ann Barnes, who oversees DAS field operations, is pleased with the results: Each and every time the officers go out, the proportion of dogs on leashes versus those running free grows.

In my ride-along Monday with field supervisor Allen Davis to Uptown’s Griggs Park, it was clear that the frequent DAS sweeps have caught residents’ attention. In an hour, we counted almost 50 dogs — all of them on leashes.

Later the same day, just a few miles to the west at Reverchon Park, Davis and field officer Todd McGehee dealt with 15 unleashed dogs out of the almost 60 they spotted.

The dog owners who leave the park with a citation aren’t too happy; Davis and McGehee have encountered violators who yell and curse at the reality of having to obey the leash law. But the two DAS officers also get a lot of thanks from law-abiding dog owners and others who are trying to enjoy the park.

Residents who frequent other parks and trails are clamoring to get similar help in their neighborhoods. And as the Lakewood Park attack of Aug. 5 shows, the problem is far from solved.

This effort is just one of many that Jamison’s team has implemented to fight back against dogs-gone-wild. So far this fiscal year, field officers have picked up almost 16,000 roaming dogs, the vast majority of them in southern Dallas. It’s all about safety: As the number of unrestrained dogs drops, so does the number of dog bites.

Dogs run unleashed at Reverchon Park in Dallas one July morning. Reverchon is one of the hot-spot parks where Dallas Animal Services is focusing its work. (Vernon Bryant / Staff Photographer)

Dallas Animal Services most recently has also been training the city’s park rangers on stepping up enforcement efforts. Given how many directions DAS is pulled, putting the park rangers on the front line makes some sense.

Can they be as effective as the DAS field officers, even if they hand out tickets? I have my doubts. There’s something about the sight of a dog-catcher's truck that makes you think twice.

We’re all paying taxes to make the city’s green spaces fabulous and safe places, so it’s reasonable to expect our parks not to be going to the dogs. What would make the biggest difference is if all pet owners would quit thinking that their dog is the exception to the rule and keep them on a leash.

I’m not holding my breath.