Tuesday 9 August 2011

What are we to do???

I have just read about yet another dog biting a child in Southend. A terrible event where a young lad was playing in the sea when a rotweiller attacked him leaving him with over 20 puncture wounds and the report says that the boy is still in hospital. The irresponsible owner, a man with 2 rotweillers off lead on the beach, where he shouldn't even have been, ran away!!
Last month a child was bitten whilst just standing there on Southchurch Road and again the owners just carried on walking even though the Mother of the child shouted that their dog had just bitten her child.
The amount of responsible dog owners that I speak to who have had their dogs attacked and again the owners just walk or run away leaving them with large vet bills to pay seems to be more and more common place.
Such cowardice from the owners never mind their irresponsible attitude to dog ownership leaves me incensed.
I am a dog lover, as a trainer I promote responsible dog ownership yet how can I stand up and be counted when this sort of thing continues in our town?  I was one of the people who campaigned against the introduction of dog control orders which made so many areas no-go for dogs, I have been approached by a local councillor to join a committee to help make Southend more dog friendly, I see so many responsible dog owners who want their dogs to be a part of their day to day lives and fit into their lives as members of the family yet it is the irresponsible few that are spoiling it for everyone.
I was at an event with the dog warden last week and we were discussing the difficulties of over coming 'the thug dog' mentality that the whole country is facing. The Dangerous Dogs Act is being repealed but how effective that will be remains to be seen, the last one and its amendments have been a waste of time. No one seems to know what to do and no one enforces it.

As the owner of a rotweiller I am concerned that yet again this loving and gentle breed has been brought into the headlines for the wrong reasons.  As a behaviourist & trainer I am appaled at the total lack of responsibility that the owner of the rotti showed and of the owners of dogs that have attacked other dogs.

What is to be done to resolve this? 

In Singapore there are strict rules to obtain a dog, firstly you have to be deemed fit to obtain a license, you must prove that you have suitable accomodation, income and commitment and it is the same in other countries yet in the UK we allow the over-breeding of our dogs, we have online sites where any fool can buy a cheap dog, our rescue centres are over run with staffie types that they are so desparate to rehome that they send them to anyone who wants one and has a garden.  There is no license, nothing to prove an ongoing commitment to the dog, they are a status symbol, a designer accessory, a thing to be passed off when they have become to difficult or you just can't be bothered.

A sad state of affairs for a 'nation of animal lovers'.