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Snarling about a growling dog
by Stuart Winton The recent mauling to death of a London woman by a dog brought back memories of last summer's attack on Dundee schoolgirl Rhianna Kidd, which resulted in surgery and hundreds of stitches for the ten-year-old. Thankfully Rhianna was reported to be on the mend soon after and indeed subsequently returned to school, but the ever present menace of these 'status' dogs remains. While there are many different motivations for owning these aggressive-looking dogs, it's self-evident that many people regard them as some sort of macho status symbol, thus often just another addition to the armoury of the hard man (real or imagined), or occasional woman. And the argument that the dog is used for defensive rather than offensive purposes isn't particularly compelling either - if the owner thinks they need a dog for protection then they're highly likely to come a cropper eventually anyway, dog or no dog. On the other hand, these man and beast pairings often provide good evidence to support the theory that dog owners often look like their charges. Equally self-evident is that there are no easy answers to the problem, but since I live in an area where ownership of these dogs is commonplace then perhaps the issue is a bit more immediate for me than for the likes of the powers that be who are ultimately responsible for controlling them (or their owners). Fortunately these dogs tend to be the smaller bull terrier-type beasts rather than the larger animals involved in the attacks mentioned above (perhaps the giro doesn't extend to the bigger breeds), but because they are often off the leash they can induce a certain level of apprehensiveness, particularly in view of the attraction often afforded to dogs by a male human being's private parts. Indeed, occasionally these untethered - and sometimes unattended - dogs have ran towards me, and the thought of an attack rushes through the mind. What will the pain be like? How long will it go on? Would a passive response be best, or might fighting back scare it off? Would anyone come to my assistance? Never mind the injuries, what if the incident induces a heart attack? How should I react if I see someone else being attacked? Anyway, shortly after the Rhianna Kidd attack I recall walking towards a couple with a terrier-style dog, which was off the lead and ran towards me. Thankfully it was just being playful, but as I passed the couple I heard the female indignantly snarl, "He just f****** growled at me" (and I assumed that she was talking to the owner about the dog rather than vice versa). I felt like saying, "Err, isn't that what they're supposed to do?", but decided that discretion was the better part of valour, and kept my head down, as you do. But perhaps there's a good argument for having these beasts put down, although the dogs themselves could be rehomed in a more suitable environment. Source: Originally posted on Planet Politics
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