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Woman, 77, In Latest Dog Attack


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http://www.smh.com.au/victoria/woman-77-in-latest-dog-attack-20110823-1j824.html

I hope O'Connor has more sense than Shorten to make sweeping statements such as he did. I hope the lady is ok, horrid situation.

Woman, 77, in latest dog attack

Mex Cooper

August 23, 2011 - 4:38PM An elderly woman has been attacked by two German shepherds in Melbourne's east as politicians move to investigate national dangerous dog laws after a four-year-old was mauled to death last week.

The 77-year-old was set upon by the pair of dogs in her rear garden in Ringwood about 11.30am before she managed to fend off the animals and retreat inside her house.

She was bitten on the ankle and scratched by the dogs which were subsequently seized by Maroondah Council workers.

A council spokeswoman said the dogs' owners had been identified and the matter was under investigation.

An Ambulance Victoria spokeswoman said the elderly woman was shaken by the attack and was treated by paramedics at her Hugh Street home before being taken to Maroondah Hospital.

A Victoria Police spokeswoman said police were also investigating.

The attack comes as Federal Justice Minister Brendan O'Connor promised to raise the possibility of national dangerous dog laws in the wake of the death of Ayen Chol who was savaged by a pit bull mastiff in her Melbourne home last Wednesday.

At a caucus meeting today, Mr O'Connor was asked by Labor frontbencher Bill Shorten to take up the issue.

Mr Shorten told the caucus that some jurisdictions imposed small fines for convicted dangerous dog owners while others had jail terms.

He described pit bulls as "sharks on legs".

Mr O'Connor said he would raise the issue with his state and territory counterparts.

Ayen was watching television with several other children when the dog chased her cousin, Angelina Mayout, 31, into the St Albans home.

The dog attacked Ms Mayout's five-year-old daughter Nyadeng Goaer and when Ms Appok tried to intervene, the dog turned on Ayen, who had been clinging to her mother's leg.

A funeral for Ayen will be held on Friday.

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Now where's MatthewB to tell us that all herding breeds should be banned too. ;)

Maybe now he'll get the point!

It's about containment, training/control and responsible ownership....not breeds.

Poor lady...very scary stuff indeed.

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I read a terrible story in the Daily Mail (UK) today about a bull mastiff off leash in a park that killed a Cavalier puppy before beginning to attack 2 little children. The brave mother put her hands in the dog's mouth to stop it biting the kids while some passers by grabbed the kids and ran. the mother spent 3 days in hospital have surgery, her hands were "shredded". It took several people including the owner, to get the dog off her. Terrible.

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Umm, for those who think the media are f***ed please go to The Age website now.

This is the photo they have for the article

th-dog-90x60.jpg

:mad

*Breathe*

Absolutely raging right now. Just completely unacceptable and just goes to show the media bias for what it really is.

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To be honest I suspect the lower media coverage is because she was bitten on the ankle and had some 'scratches' - she wasn't killed like the story last week so it is (quite legitimately) a smaller story.

I suspect if it were not for last week's fatality, this attack wouldn't have made the news at all.

After last week, any dog attack will be news for a while because readers are sensitive about the issue.

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hope O'Connor has more sense than Shorten to make sweeping statements such as he did. I hope the lady is ok, horrid situation.

unfortunately O'Conner is not known for his common sense, he is quite good at using scaremongering tactics to push through legislation.

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I agree. The personal attacks on Matthew B are self-defeating, i.e. they are merely preaching to the converted. The proper response is to calmly and rationally make a point about the argument at hand. Many of these replies remind me of the mantra of the gun-lobby in the USA - guns don't kill people, people kill people. More appropriate, to me, would be well-organised, consistent lobby groups to clearly and loudly promote responsible dog ownership as an on-going project, which might include effective training, feeding, veterinary care, general welfare and socialisation. It's not enough to bemoan the ignorance of the general public or to berate Matthew B for his not-unreasonable worries and concern. His views are held by the majority - it's up to affected doglovers to pro-actively seek to change those views. Whingeing to each other on a forum such as this will not re-educate Joe Public.

No matter what, any person is entitled to be safe in their own, fenced backyard. Whether the elderly lady was seriously harmed in the physical sense is not relevant - the psychological damage could be just too much.

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I agree. The personal attacks on Matthew B are self-defeating, i.e. they are merely preaching to the converted.

My comment was not a personal attack.. it was highlighting the flawed logic MattB's argument that dog breeds that attack (in his eyes the only the APBT) are dangerous and must be wiped from the face of the earth.

Go read the other dog attack thread and see who's been making the personal attacks - it sure as hell isn't me.

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