It's a bit of a drive but I had really excellent experiences with McFadden's Auto Center in Laurel. Family owned, super nice people, always treated my vehicles right.

So, I live less than 20 miles away from the center of East Palestine. When they did a 'controlled release' and the winds changed, hazmat guys were seen just down the street, and you could smell it in some parts of the city.

That said, how worried should I be when it comes to my tap/drinking water? What about my dog playing in the local ponds, or in Mill Creek?

Restaurants, my man! I worked at the CCF at the mall for years. In times were 445 or 530pm for most weeknight shifts. Make a decent bit of cash that night, you get out what you put in, and as long as you don't fall into the drug/drinking trap of working in a restaurant you can make decent money. You can make your extra 1k a month doing just weekend shifts, if need be.

Also, consider where you can cut back. Make sure you're shopping cheap for food, eating in not out, etc. Stuff you probably already know, but it's helpful to think about still.

Traffic blows, so plan accordingly. I used to work at the mall and would have to go the long way to work on days with big concerts.

I was so, so hesitant to put our boy on medication because I didn't want to somehow compromise who he was, which is... I know it sounds weird, but I had this imagine of a doped up dog or something. He's on a medium dose of prozac daily and has an as-needed higher dose of anxiety medication. We have seen incredible progress. It's not a magic pill or anything, but he's calmer, sleeps better, and his threshold is much higher. My only regret is that we didn't do it sooner.

I'm sure my comment is biased, because my boy is also leash reactive. He's a frustrated greeter, which means he's not aggressive, just... really wants to say hello. Several years and a ton of training, and he's good but still not great. Big public places and dogs too close overwhelm him, and there are some things he's never going to be able to do. It's just a fact of life.

have you checked out the reactive dogs sub? I've found a ton of great advice and help from there. My boy is also on prozac daily, and it's made a huge difference in his anxiety. With that reduced anxiety, he's been able to take to training a lot easier in stressful situations. I don't know you guys or your dogs situation, but it might be something to consider!

Obviously none of us were there, so it's hard to judge the situation. However, if you were near apartments, it is pretty safe to think that the original dog walker was just trying to let his dog walk a bit so they would go to the bathroom, probably before work. You say in another comment that the owner stepped off to the side to let you pass safely and without issue, and you still felt the need to post this in a public forum to... what, shame him? Shame the dog? Reactivity in a dog is a complex issue and it's not so black and white. The owner was polite enough to step away and probably realizes most people think his dog is batshit crazy. I can't say what tools or methods he was using to work on it, but again... he's probably doing his best and just trying to ensure his dog doesn't have a full bladder or poo on his floor during the work day.

If you run into him again, or you find yourself in similar situations, consider that it takes nothing to be kind and considerate to your neighbors. Everyone is going through something, and I'm absolutely sure that the owner would rather his dog not be leash reactive to strangers.