Angrywith the RSPCA/Council dog wardens

MortgageMamma

Asher wrote:

If your dog cannot be trusted in a public place where toddlers might run to him you should not take him there. A child has more rights to enjoy public places than a dog. I agree with you that adults should be more aware but in many cases they are not.

I don't see any use in that statement, just as a child should be restrained by its parents and dog can be restrained by its owner - there is a mutual responsibility there but the problem of irresponsible parents vs irresponsible dog owners is never going to go away.

However I do think if there is potential for the dog to bite it should be muzzled whilst out walking for everyones sake. A dog is more likely to attack another dog that to attack a human, but whoever or whatever is attacked is not an issue if the dog is properly restrained in public places.

I am fortunate enough to live semi rurally so have the freedom of the countryside for my dogs, yet whenever there is sheep around I restrain them to avoid distress to the sheep, even though the sheep are much bigger than my dog and are quite cool about them.

When we went out last weekend at 7am with them, as we walked over the bridge we came face to face with a deer, a stag and a baby deer, we all just stood there still looking at them, then our dogs cowered in submission and tried to go and greet the deers (they weren't on their leads) - we expected the deers to bolt but they just stood perfectly still and looked down at our dogs, me and the hubby didnt dare go near them in case the stag went for us so we turned and walked hopeing the dogs would follow us and when we turned around the stag had lowered his head to sniff our dogs! It was a fantastic experience, I feel like a luney writing it but it was just so unique!

Asher

wickychoo wrote:

The whole point of public spaces are that they are PUBLIC, should people wish to take their dogs there they have the same rights as people who wish to take their children there.

Dogs and children are inherantly similar in that they can both be well trained and well mannered, or be nasty depending on the care and training they have recieved from their parents/owners.

Children thankfully have far more rights than dogs. If I take my child to a park they are entitled to ride a bike without being chased by a dog, play with a ball or a frisby without a dog snatching it from them and to run and play without me having to scrape turds from their shoes afterwards. I like dogs but I do not like most dog owners, I still maintain that if a dog cannot be approached by a toddler it has no right to be at large in a public place. If a person insists on keeping an untrustworthy dog it should be kept in its own garden.

Froglet

Hi Mortgage Mamma.I have been following this thread with great interest, as are many.If only there were more people like you,but the caring ones should not have to pick up the pieces after others have been so neglectful.Any more news on the dog today? has he gone to the pound or a rescue centre yet?

I have rescued wildlife in trouble and would do the same as you for a cat or dog.Unfortunately there are many times i would love to interfere and take on neglected pets but can't.The RSPCA have their hands tied with the pathetic laws as they exist but they are hoping for better controls in the spring,so they can intervene sooner.We may criticise them,but without them we would still be in the dark ages where bear baiting and cockfighting was thought fun.

MortgageMamma

Asher wrote:

Children thankfully have far more rights than dogs. If I take my child to a park they are entitled to ride a bike without being chased by a dog, play with a ball or a frisby without a dog snatching it from them and to run and play without me having to scrape turds from their shoes afterwards. I like dogs but I do not like most dog owners, I still maintain that if a dog cannot be approached by a toddler it has no right to be at large in a public place. If a person insists on keeping an untrustworthy dog it should be kept in its own garden.

I'm not disputing your point here asher, as I too have children - but most dog owners of untrustworthy dogs keep them on a lead publicly, and children too should have it drummed into them not to approach strange dogs (obviously when they are at the age that they can understand). Mankind and dogs have lived together peacefully for thousands of years, its even been proved that prehistoric man kept dogs as pets/companisions/guard dogs. when you look at this from a slightly different perspective, you hear more about humans injuring/abducting/raping/murdering children that you do about dog attacks on children, you might say the statistics are incomparable because there are more humans than dogs, but I'd still say even if you adjusted the figures/statistics proportionately you would still have a much higher ratio of humans damaging children than you would dogs. My point here? Its not the dogs you need to worry about its the bloody paedophiles and sicko murderers that are left to walk our streets anonimously a and repeatly reoffend!

Contains_Mild_Peril

Asher wrote:

Children thankfully have far more rights than dogs. If I take my child to a park they are entitled to ride a bike without being chased by a dog, play with a ball or a frisby without a dog snatching it from them and to run and play without me having to scrape turds from their shoes afterwards. I like dogs but I do not like most dog owners, I still maintain that if a dog cannot be approached by a toddler it has no right to be at large in a public place. If a person insists on keeping an untrustworthy dog it should be kept in its own garden.

Unless the owner has a massive garden, that's not really an option for a big dog. If the owner keeps their dog on a lead in areas where it's likely to encounter children (and pboae's post gives me no reason to suspect that his/her dog is let off the lead in public parks) then it it not the owner's fault if parents fail to take the same sort of responsibility for their children. I was taught from a very early age not to approach strange dogs, and assumed that all kids were taught the same "rules": don't cross roads unsupervised, don't eat sweets you find in the street, don't go with strangers, don't approach strange dogs etc.

HugoRune_2

Good on you MortgageMamma.
My sister told me of her neighbours dog who was continually left out in the yard half starving and freezing to death, 7 years on she is still sat beside me here, with a full belly in a warm house, resting against my leg looking very happy indeed.
I've only had one experience with the RSPCA and it was a positive one, wonder if its worth sending this thread to them and people could provide them with full details so they could respond?

Mrs_pbradley936

This thread has been hijacked. I am not saying that we should not be debating the responsibilities of dog ownership but perhaps someone should start a new thread about it. If it had a suitable title more people would join in.
It is very topical at the moment because another child has been attacked - I do not know the details but I just caught the headlines on the radio.

MortgageMamma

What another one from the rottweiler 5 month baby the other day?!

Mrs_pbradley936

Yes, a boy of two who had to be rescued by a handyman who just happened to have his tools (hammer) available he whacked the dog and it backed off. The dog has since been put down.

Murtle

MM, you are a credit to the human race. This story has made me realise that there are people out there who care, we so often hear the negative things, this has made me happy. As for the RSPCA, the less said about them, they may have to work within laws, but they don't make things easy on themselves, others or the animals they are there to protect. Once a prominent charity, now a load of red tape. As Bossyboots said, give them food but don't give them money.