nawnim

As more information comes to light about this particular case I admit that my earlier comments may not be applicable. I did jump the gun. (mea culpa) However I am so tired of aggressive dogs and people who think it's okay to own them, but these comments belong elsewhere. That poor child. I will now retire from this thread.

Depending on context of course. For example: yes. Why? So we can excuse the dog and blame the parents for not supervising the toddler? I am almost 70. I have a 2yo grandson. This story is horrific. I have also owned a dog (a dalmation) that attacked. My dog was on lead and the boy attacked was on a skateboard. My dog was given its wings the next day. The boy's photo featured in the local paper that week under the heading Another Dog Attack. I have also lived next door to a couple of large dogs that were especially trained as guard dogs to protect the houseowners' marijhuana crop. My 8yo son went over the fence to retrieve a ball and he was attacked. Not seriously thankfully. I love dogs. Our society must be a safe one for children to grow up. I'm glad your child wasn't hurt seriously, however.... In this situation, I would blame the child for poor judgement and yourself for poor parenting. You shouldn't let your child trespass, especially if you KNOW your neighbours are drug users and have dangerous dogs.....the dog was just doing what dogs do in that situation. It is the job of parents to make sure their children don't come into harms way. Yes I do and did accept responsibility for my parenting. My heart was still thumping hours later. However 8yo's don't always do as they are told, and 8yo's are not supervised 24/7 They often walk to school alone and kick their footballs in the street. The neighbours should not have had aggressive dogs.

yes. Why? So we can excuse the dog and blame the parents for not supervising the toddler? I am almost 70. I have a 2yo grandson. This story is horrific. I have also owned a dog (a dalmation) that attacked. My dog was on lead and the boy attacked was on a skateboard. My dog was given its wings the next day. The boy's photo featured in the local paper that week under the heading Another Dog Attack. I have also lived next door to a couple of large dogs that were especially trained as guard dogs to protect the houseowners' marijhuana crop. My 8yo son went over the fence to retrieve a ball and he was attacked. Not seriously thankfully. I love dogs. Our society must be a safe one for children to grow up.

Shocking story. Poor little boy There is NO place for aggressive dogs in our society and owners of dogs that attack should be sent to jail.

Thankyou all. I have decided to write them a letter explaining why I cancelled my appointment and I will direct them to this thread. Thankyou Cazstaff for sharing your shocking experience with all of us and for making grooming salons safer places for our dogs. I hope you have not minded me dragging this thread back on to the first page again. I am very sorry for the loss of your much loved pet.

Really? The hate page she had going on all of us said very differently. Dolers were posting hate posts on other dolers too. A very ugly page!

I think this could be a good idea but I don't want to suggest that all groomers are not to be trusted. There are some good ones out there who love dogs and who treat their charges well.

Thankyou to all for your advice. Rosetta do you really think groomers everywhere know about Buddy? When I made the appointment I did try to explain why I was concerned that she had left the dog unattended and I wanted to know my boy would be safe. I just got the glazed expression and then she murmured something to the effect that everyone loves their dogs.

It's not just about whether a dog is aggressive or not, loose dogs are a traffic hazard.

Thankyou. I have cancelled but I did not say why. I am a total chicken and I find young people (especially some young women) quite scary. It was one of the new grooming salons attached to a pet store which has a window where you can see the dogs being clipped. I watched for a bit and they seemed quite good with the dogs so I made the appointment. When I thought about it later I realised they kept dogs in cages out the back and you did not see the dog being washed or dried. I don't like it when they use hair dryers on dogs in cages and I could not see what they did. So I have cancelled and I do feel relieved. I will go back to my mobile groomer who doesn't clip his nails although it's supposed to be part of the service.

A good groomer will not leave a dog on the table ever. Even if you are a few meters away the dog could still fall off and snap its neck. I would cancel. Thankyou. That is what I was thinking.

I read this thread when it first appeared and I felt so sorry for poor Buddy and his owners. Yes I shed a few tears and I was and still am angry with the grooming establishment. Poor buddy! Poor owner! It left me fearful of ever leaving my boy at a groomers. I started using a mobile service so I could watch out my window to make sure he was safe. Yesterday I booked him in at a salon, and I was concerned when the groomer left a dog on the table to come and serve me. I asked her if the dog was safe and she gave me the 'you crazy old woman' look. I felt intimidated and made the booking but today I am wondering if I should cancel. Am I being an over anxious mother? How can I make sure my boy will be safe?

My girl's name is Lottie Matilda. She gets Lottie or Lot or Miss Matilda. Sometimes I call her Bub. Lot and Bub are good for calling from a distance. At the dog park if she is after a ball and I call Lot she turns instantly. You can also say Lo-oo-ot if you want. You could call you baby Charlotte and go from there.

I guess the bottom line is what must matter to vets because after all they have to earn a living. Several vets in the Canberra area already look after rescue groups. West Queanbeyan looks after CPR, The Gables at Queanbeyan and Monash look after ARF, Fadden (Tuggeranong Veterinary Hospital) look after ACT AR (I think?). IMO you need to find a vet who is not already involved with a rescue group. I may be wrong but I thought I read somewhere that you were interested in rescuing GSDs. Just a thought but it may be worth trying the Animal Medical Centre in Woden. Sandra Hassett has GSDs. Or maybe it's worth trying the RSPCA. I think they do discounted desexing for pensioners and they may be able to help.

Are the vets at Fadden having a hard time? I hope not. I thought you said the one at Qbn Sth was slow to respond.

Thankyou. I found the website quite impressive.

Thankyou Trifecta. I did look at the website and I understand what you are saying. Exercise is not my dogs' biggest need and I would never leave them for more than a few days so it might be a possibility. I will visit and see what I think. nn

Hi Alyosha, Just wondering if you have used the Sonza boarding kennels or do you know anything about them? Thanks nn

John Montgomery is the vet at Sonza. He is also an obedience judge and he gave me a pass so he must be okay. ETA I use the Tuggeranong Veterinary Hospital at Fadden and they're great. ETA They do some rescue work I believe

Thanks. Antoinette is an aristocratic sort of name. I used to have trouble remembering how to spell it when I was young Amelia Goulburn grew up as Amelia Jones. When she started drama school and showed talent the people of Goulburn raised money for her to go overseas. She then changed her name to Amelia Goulburn

House mistress of a school for gifted young ladies who moonlights as a witch. Thankyou I love it. I must go and look for that broomstick. Have you ever thought of being a writer? You are very creative. It has crossed my mind. I've written a few things but they just skulk around the 'documents' area on my computer :laugh: In my crystal ball I see J K Rowling moonlighting as MUP.

House mistress of a school for gifted young ladies who moonlights as a witch. Thankyou I love it. I must go and look for that broomstick. Have you ever thought of being a writer? You are very creative.

Okay Looks like fun so I'll join in. Mine would be Antoinette Edgewood MUP I want something creative pretty please

Well done MUP. Thanks for letting us know.

I think the notion that people be allowed to have pets in retirement villages needs to be treated with some caution. I have met some older people with inappropriate dogs, often a breed they have owned and bred for many years, and they are reluctant to admit that the breed is no longer appropriate for them. By inappropriate I mean that these dogs are large (over 20 kgs) and the owner has little control. I hate to think of life in a retirement village with some of these dogs. For dogs to live in a retirement village they need to be model canine citizens with responsible owners, perhaps even more so than dogs kept in suburban backyards because of the confined space. As an example a few months ago I was at the vets (minus my dogs) and an elderly gentleman (in his 70s) had what looked to me to be a purebred Irish wolfhound. (I don't know much about wolfhounds other than that they are large). I left at the same time as this man and it was obvious he could not control his dog (he said he had hurt his back) which was about to pull him over. I offered to help and took charge of the dog's lead. When we got to the car park two smaller dogs on lead were there. The wolfhound lunged at them and if I had not seen the smaller dogs first the wolfhound would have got loose or would have pulled me over. I would hate to think of that man taking his dog to a retirement village.