Barbecues, beaches and dog bites
Spring is well and truly here and we can look forward to the lazy, hazy, crazy days of summer. There is nothing quite so Kiwi as languid days at the beach, waiting in line for hot chips … and dog attacks.
I’ve always held the opinion that it’s the American pit bull terrier that’s the most vicious breed. After all they’re officially classified as menacing. Savage, ugly brutes that should be rounded up and shot. I don’t care what anybody says about the owners being the problem, it’s the breed, fair and square, they’re ‘hard wired’ to attack and keep attacking for no valid reason.
But to be fair the only dog that ever bit me was a golden labrador. It was on a hot, summer’s day; it simply walked up and bit me with no warning. Man’s best friend my backside. It hurt like hell, my backside that is. I should have done the right thing and kept facing it, never turning my back which is why it went for me as my back posed less of a threat than by front making me more vulnerable.
I wrote about it in a letter to my Mum. It was on one of those blue crinkly aerogrammes Mum used to love getting. She eventually wrote back saying she hoped the dog was all right.
A few Sunday mornings ago I thought about this, it’s funny how memories work isn’t it? Later on I saw a bunch of people exercising dogs at the Waiwhakaiho estuary. I say exercising but the majority of the dogs were generally fighting, crapping on the beach or making other dogs. I watched the pit bulls behaving differently, they were aggressive and downright bullies but I thought to question the stereotype I held and do some digging on the facts about dog attacks in New Plymouth over the last year.
Top of the pops for recorded attacks? The American pit bull with more attacks on people, other dogs, cats and livestock than any other breed. Next, my nemesis the labrador albeit clocking up most attacks on livestock.
Third is the Staffordshire bull terrier. Same thing as the American pit bull really, except it’s even uglier if that were ever possible.
My point is that there are not many considerate dogs and even less considerate dog owners and generally the summer will be punctuated by dogs biting children or making problems somewhere.
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