Dangerous Dogs

A 10-year-old girl is in hospital in Dundee after being attacked by two Rottweiler dogs in the street. The incident happened as Rhianna Kidd was riding her bike. Rhianna's grandmother, who lives in the area, ran from her house to help. A passing motorist also sounded his horn to try to distract the dogs. The little girl was taken to Ninewells Hospital in the city.

It's that time of year again. Sometime during the summer, a child will be mauled or killed by a family pet, or in this case, pets! Where was the owner? Why were the dogs not on a lead? Why were they allowed free rein in a public place? So many questions, and so few answers. If the wee girl was riding a bike, the dogs had to scare her enough to get her off the bike, or even knocked her off, before attacking her, and putting her in hospital for injuries including a broken jaw, and re-constructive surgery. These dogs are BIG, and that's an understatement. Certainly much too big for a 10 year old to fight or run away from.

Have you seen some of the dog owners? Do you not think they are sometimes an extension of their personality? Maybe even look like their dog (or is it the other way around)? I am talking in general, so please don't give me the odd exception. The choice of dog may even come down to an image thing, where the owner wants to be seen with a certain kind of dog. You don't usually see little old ladies with Rottweilers, do you? And big macho tattoo'd bouncers don't usually own a poodle, do they? 

I hope this silly season of dog attacks is over soon. I suppose it's not really the dog's fault. Maybe we should take firm action against dog owners whose wee family pet attacks and maims a human. These dog owners made a choice in the dog they own, so they should live with the consequences of their inability to train them, and keep them under control. So, after putting the dog(s) down, the owner should be made to visit and pay for the victim's medical injuries, while they work voluntarily for an animal shelter, on the days allowed out of prison. Yes, I think a month or two in jail is in order too. Where do our sympathies really lie? With the dog, or the dog owner, or the victim?... Careful how you answer!

Dogs and Dog Owners

The following article doesn't need anything else added.... Dog owners take note.......

A little girl could lose her eye because of an infection contracted from dog mess left in a playground.

Amiee Langdon with her mother, Suzanne. (Photo: MEN Syndication)

Toddler Amiee Langdon, who will be two years old next week, put her hand in faeces when she fell over in a park.

Before her mother Suzanne could react, the little girl wiped her left eye with the same hand.

Ms Langdon, a 29-year-old nurse from Fallowfield, Manchester, rushed to clean the eye and rinsed it with warm water once they returned home.

Amiee's condition is the consequence of some thoughtless dog owner.

Suzanne Langdon

But it was too late to stop Amiee contracting an infection calledtoxocariasis, which is caused by parasitic worms in dog mess.

The toddler's eye subsequently swelled up, becoming purple and inflamed.

Amiee was admitted to hospital where she was immediately put on antibiotics.

But, if they do not work, she will need surgery to remove the eye so the infection does not spread to her brain, which - in extreme cases - could lead to death.

I hope this makes irresponsible dog owners understand the very real consequences of failing to pick up after their dogs.

Paul Andrews, Manchester City Council

Amiee was playing in a gated children's area of Platt Fields Park, Fallowfield, when she fell over.

Ms Langdon said: "Amiee's condition is the consequence of some thoughtless dog owner.

"It's awful. There is a sign saying 'No dogs' near the entrance to the play area, but it seems people are ignoring it. Councils must get tough."

Paul Andrews, of neighbourhood services at Manchester City Council, said: "I hope this extremely upsetting incident makes irresponsible dog owners understand the very real consequences of failing to pick up after their dogs.

"We are thinking about this little girl and her family and we hope she makes a speedy recovery."

Donkeys and Dogs

The following article has been seen in a local village news sheet, and I must say I sympathise with the writer. What do you think??

Like many others, I have had to walk the gauntlet of dog poo along most of my road when going to school to collect my grandchildren. I know you have championed this cause before, but I believe there to be two animals involved. The dog who has poor bowel control, and the donkey who walks the dog, who has no brain control. I am not sure which is worse! Actually I do. The donkey or ass is worse because he or she knows full well the effect their animal has on the pavement, and also that children will walk through it, and carry the mess, the smell, and the disease home. These people don't need a poop scoop, they need a navvies shovel and a brain replacement. 

I am sick and tired of seeing the end result (pun intended) but never clapping eyes on the beasts who walk the dogs. My conclusion is this: there are worse animals in our village than the dogs! Even worse still, these animals will not take any responsibility, or care what their dog does, so it will continue. Are we prepared to live in a place with more than our share of 'village idiots'?

In the unlikely event that one of these animals (not the dog) is reading this, then 'get your act together'!!

Submitted by 'Pavement Dancer'.

Strange isn't it that dog owners don't really see themselves as culprits? How many of this kind of dog owner do you know, who do not pick up after their dog? Answer, none, because they are all very careful with their pets. It's a bit like an obese person saying they don't really eat much, or a chain smoker who says they don't really spend a whole lot on cigarettes, or an alcoholic who could stop drinking anytime! As our Scottish bard said so well, 'ah wid some power the Giftie gie us, to see oorselves as ithers see us'!

On another point, I was walking down the street recently, and an adult man took a run at a stranger and stood in front of him shouting abuse in a very agitated way. He then ran round the very frightened victim, up close and yelling all the while. The adult man's elderly mum stepped in and said to the now shaking man, 'don't worry, he won't touch you. He's really a big softy'!! Wow...

Sound familiar? What about the dog owner who lets their 'wee pet' run up to an unsuspecting stranger, bark wildly at him or her, maybe a child, almost causing a coronary visit, and says in a very unsympathetic manner, 'he'll no touch you, you know. He's a big softy'. All as if to say, that it was your own fault he did that. You obviously did something to agitate him. Oh dear, tell that to the gran in NE England who lost their grandchild to a wild family pet, who never did anything like that before. Or how about the family pet on the Isle of Wight who mauled a young baby to death in the family home? Do dog owners not know about these things, or do they just ignore them? After all, isn't their dog just like their own child, or maybe even more important than their own children?

The obvious exceptions to this kind of problem are professionally trained dogs, like dogs for the blind or deaf, or police rescue dogs. To me, a dog is a dog, so the difference obviously isn't in the animal, it's in the owner, or as the writer of the article above says, if there is a problem, it lies with 'the donkey'. Aptly said!!