Groundhog246
Contributor
I don't entirely disagree, but I'm not sure about the "majority". I'm not anti-dog, I grew up with a collie. I don't even dislike pit bulls, but there are some really bad owners out there. If you don't own a dog, it's really hard to teach a small child ( 2 to 5) not to touch a dog (or any animal). It's my opinion, that anyone who owns a dog is responsible to teach it to tolerate people, including children, if they're going to take it to public places. Any dog that would bite a child that pets it, does not belong in a public park or street, ever.
My older daughter was bitten twice by the same dog (next door neighbour) on our own property when she was about 4 or 5. First time it broke it's chain, second time it got out the door when someone in the household opened a door. She had never teased the dog, period. First time my brother was close at hand and hauled the dog off. We called the local animal control and they issued a warning (no serious harm). The second time she she screamed and I came running. She needed several stitches in her arm. Called animal control, was told council wasn't willing to pay the court costs to pursue removal of the dog. I was bummed to say the least and made my displeasure unknown. As it happened the daughter of the owner of the local paper's daughter was my younger sister's best friend and he got word. Phoned me, printed a small story which got picked up by local TV station. On air interview, led to an evening pf phone calls from all the town councillors except the mayor, and the dog was removed the next day. Turned out there we 11 previous complaints, 5 from before they moved in next door.
In a similar vein, my 14YO step son has 2 large scars across his cheek. When he was about 8, on the sidewalk 2 doors up, a dog being walked on a leash jumped up at him. The owner held onto the leash, but he raked 2 claws across his face, missed his eye by less than 1/2", needed 6 stitches (2 in one gash, 4 in the other) and will carry those scars for life.
