Dear Editor
In response to the letter in last week’s edition of Newton News regarding the recent German Shepherd attack on Poppy the Jack Russell. These incidents of out-of- control dog attacks seem to be getting more frequent and the situation is quite disturbing. People who own any dog especially large breeds like Alsations, German Shepherds, Huskys and the like, need to take responsibility and ensure that these animals are under control when out and about and the perimeter of their properties secure to avoid them escaping.
I myself posted a letter in the Newton News last year (5th August edition) after my dog was viciously attacked by an Alsation which escaped from the garden, but on that occasion he was lucky and apart from being terrified and shook up for a few days, he suffered no obvious injury, as his thick coat took the brunt of the attack. Unfortunately however, the very same Alsation attacked him again on 26th May this year, only this time my dog was quite badly injured on his hind leg resulting in two very deep puncture wounds which became infected and required veterinary treatment and follow ups.
On this occasion I too informed the police and as a result of this am now being subjected to offensive behaviour from a person who has absolutely nothing to do with the matter but is associated with the dog’s owner – ‘because of what you did to my friend’….. and accused of being a liar as apparently it wasn’t my dog that was attacked. The PCSO who attended following this incident told me that the police ‘don’t usually get involved with dog fights as dogs sometimes fight’, but as I told her, there is a huge difference in a dog fight and a dog attack on an unsuspecting animal.
Irene Wilkinson
