Fatal Dog Attack In Balga, Perth

[Skye GSD]

http://au.news.yahoo.com/thewest/a/-/wa/15315134/grandma-bites-vicious-dog/

My worst fear in meeting unleashed/roaming dogs. So much sympathy for the woman, who will have nightmares for years to come, and her beloved dog.

Edited November 6, 2012 by Skye GSD

[minimax]

Wow, not sure that getting close enough to bite the dog would have been one of my first thoughts

[Skye GSD]

Adrenalin takes over - most people would do what they could to save their own dog - I know I would, even if it meant getting bitten myself I could not stand by and do nothing. The TV interview with the owner was heartwrenching.

[persephone]

Brave woman! Adrenaline is a wonderful thing . her poor little old dog ...what a way to end a life .

[Kadbury]

So sad for Mrs.Norman and her beloved pet Lady.

What a brave lady.....and poor darling needed 20 stitches to her hand.

When are these attacks going to end -

I agree Skye GSD I have moved recently and when walking with my Grandson to a local park I was shaking because of all the dogs either unleashed or lunging on their leads at anything that walked or moved.

I then started driving to the Park as there seemed to be no dogs just Parents with Children using the play equipment in that section of the Park.

Run free at the Bridge Lady

[mona]

Saw this on the news this morning - truly heartbreaking.

We have a little ( 3kgs ) maltese and keep her on lead - out biggest fear is this sort of thing happening. We don't tend to see too many unleashed dogs in our area , but are always keeping an eye out.

Sending healing vibes to this lady - she must be beyond devastated and still in shock.

Run free little dog

[Guest donatella]

See these stories are the reason my dogs rarely get walked (never own my own without someone with me 1 per dog). It's just BS and I will not take the risk some hungry beast eating my defenseless guys for lunch!

God I hate stupid people and stupid owners.

[Clyde]

She did a really foolish thing putting her face so close to the dogs head. NOt saying I blame her, we do crazy things in frightening situations. Just relieved her face didnt get torn off. Poor woman and her sweet little dog.

[Luke GSP]

Wow, not sure that getting close enough to bite the dog would have been one of my first thoughts

Not having a go at you minimax, but your comment did make me think back to the amount of fights that I have had to get amongst to stop at the local dog park whilst the dogs owners stood by and either screamed or should "(insert dogs name here) come or stop" I honestly believe that before someone gets a dog they should consider are they able to deal with the situation should their dog get in to a fight?

I have frequently put myself between my dogs and another oncoming, unleashed animal to ensure that the introductions were either in an orderly fashion or didn't happen at all, depending on the situation at the time, I look at it as my job.

Please do not take this as "having a go" I promise that i am not :) it was purely your comment that prompted my train of thought as we all tend to factor in the "work" associated with getting a dog, but I am wondering if everyone factors in being ready to deal with the real dog world should they ever have to face it?

As to the lady and her dog, she deserves a medal, may the dog rest in peace. my heart goes out to the both of them.

The other dogs should be destroyed, the owner of the other dogs deserves a jail term and every owner of a large breed dog needs to start thinking about why these kinds of incidents keep happening, and how they can make sure to the best of their abilities that their dog is never in a position where they could do the same. No one is perfect and any dog is capable of such an act and sometimes it only takes a second or momentary lapse for the dog to have the chance, sadly though some dog "types" are far better equipped to cause terrible trauma and death than others, and whilst irresponsible owners who gravitate towards that type of animal are able to get them unregistered, probably not from sound breeding, (I would be willing to bet entire) sadly the days of responsible people being able to have them at all will be numbered. Not saying it's right, just stating the obvious based on history.

[frufru]

So sorry for this lady and her beloved dog. It is a disgrace that a mature lady cannot walk her little dog without it being savagely killed in front of her - I am so sick of these attacks and the arsewipes that own these dogs.

Serious question - why do these fatal attacks invariably involve larger dogs?

Having been charged by several sets of dogs over the last few months while I am out walking my 3 (a mini poodle and 2 standards) I have found that I can scare off smaller dogs whereas the larger ones keep coming. I am 5foot2 inches tall and while a small dog might find me intimidating - larger dogs do not - they are also not put off by my two standard poodles who are not small dogs.

:cry:

Edited November 6, 2012 by frufru

[minimax]

Wow, not sure that getting close enough to bite the dog would have been one of my first thoughts

Not having a go at you minimax, but your comment did make me think back to the amount of fights that I have had to get amongst to stop at the local dog park whilst the dogs owners stood by and either screamed or should "(insert dogs name here) come or stop" I honestly believe that before someone gets a dog they should consider are they able to deal with the situation should their dog get in to a fight?

I have frequently put myself between my dogs and another oncoming, unleashed animal to ensure that the introductions were either in an orderly fashion or didn't happen at all, depending on the situation at the time, I look at it as my job.

Please do not take this as "having a go" I promise that i am not :) it was purely your comment that prompted my train of thought as we all tend to factor in the "work" associated with getting a dog, but I am wondering if everyone factors in being ready to deal with the real dog world should they ever have to face it?

As to the lady and her dog, she deserves a medal, may the dog rest in peace. my heart goes out to the both of them.

The other dogs should be destroyed, the owner of the other dogs deserves a jail term and every owner of a large breed dog needs to start thinking about why these kinds of incidents keep happening, and how they can make sure to the best of their abilities that their dog is never in a position where they could do the same. No one is perfect and any dog is capable of such an act and sometimes it only takes a second or momentary lapse for the dog to have the chance, sadly though some dog "types" are far better equipped to cause terrible trauma and death than others, and whilst irresponsible owners who gravitate towards that type of animal are able to get them unregistered, probably not from sound breeding, (I would be willing to bet entire) sadly the days of responsible people being able to have them at all will be numbered. Not saying it's right, just stating the obvious based on history.

I too would probably instincivly put myself between my dog, but not with my face!!!

[Luke GSP]

Wow, not sure that getting close enough to bite the dog would have been one of my first thoughts

Not having a go at you minimax, but your comment did make me think back to the amount of fights that I have had to get amongst to stop at the local dog park whilst the dogs owners stood by and either screamed or should "(insert dogs name here) come or stop" I honestly believe that before someone gets a dog they should consider are they able to deal with the situation should their dog get in to a fight?

I have frequently put myself between my dogs and another oncoming, unleashed animal to ensure that the introductions were either in an orderly fashion or didn't happen at all, depending on the situation at the time, I look at it as my job.

Please do not take this as "having a go" I promise that i am not :) it was purely your comment that prompted my train of thought as we all tend to factor in the "work" associated with getting a dog, but I am wondering if everyone factors in being ready to deal with the real dog world should they ever have to face it?

As to the lady and her dog, she deserves a medal, may the dog rest in peace. my heart goes out to the both of them.

The other dogs should be destroyed, the owner of the other dogs deserves a jail term and every owner of a large breed dog needs to start thinking about why these kinds of incidents keep happening, and how they can make sure to the best of their abilities that their dog is never in a position where they could do the same. No one is perfect and any dog is capable of such an act and sometimes it only takes a second or momentary lapse for the dog to have the chance, sadly though some dog "types" are far better equipped to cause terrible trauma and death than others, and whilst irresponsible owners who gravitate towards that type of animal are able to get them unregistered, probably not from sound breeding, (I would be willing to bet entire) sadly the days of responsible people being able to have them at all will be numbered. Not saying it's right, just stating the obvious based on history.

I too would probably instincivly put myself between my dog, but not with my face!!!

I thought that I had made it clear that my post was not directed at you and if you read my post you would see that i was not suggesting someone using their face either, but i wonder how many are ready and prepared to get involved in breaking up a dog fight should it occur as in my experience, it is very few owners as they would prefer to stand around expecting their dog to suddenly "snap out of it" and obey a command

as I typed previously, please do not take this as "having a go" I promise that i am not it was purely your comment that prompted my train of thought as we all tend to factor in the "work" associated with getting a dog, but I am wondering if everyone factors in being ready to deal with the real dog world should they ever have to face it?

[mixeduppup]

I've had to amend the walking route so many times in this town because of unleashed dogs. It's got to a point now that I take them to a friend's property on the weekend and exercise them there and the rest of the time I use a home made agility course in the backyard to keep them exercised. I even have loose pig hunting dogs coming down my road and that's just something I never want to deal with.

RIP little lady and I'm so sorry Norma, what a brave woman.

Edited November 6, 2012 by mixeduppup

[persephone]

why do these fatal attacks invariably involve larger dogs?

'cos they are often not house dogs/can escape easier/are not properly socialised because they are 'guarding' the house /are not under full control as owners do not have the skills /..are perhaps of a certain temperament bred for specifically ..

[Lollipup]

Poor woman! I agree the video was absolutely heart wrenching

When will dog owners get the message?

[Dame Aussie]

why do these fatal attacks invariably involve larger dogs?

'cos they are often not house dogs/can escape easier/are not properly socialised because they are 'guarding' the house /are not under full control as owners do not have the skills /..are perhaps of a certain temperament bred for specifically ..

And because they're bigger, a bigger dog will normally be able to do more damage than a small one. I'd guess we don't hear about lots of minor attacks where small dogs were involved and there were no serious injuries because the dog was small and easier to be kicked off etc.

[Guest donatella]

why do these fatal attacks invariably involve larger dogs?

'cos they are often not house dogs/can escape easier/are not properly socialised because they are 'guarding' the house /are not under full control as owners do not have the skills /..are perhaps of a certain temperament bred for specifically ..

And because they're bigger, a bigger dog will normally be able to do more damage than a small one. I'd guess we don't hear about lots of minor attacks where small dogs were involved and there were no serious injuries because the dog was small and easier to be kicked off etc.

If my dogs got out one day the last thing they would do would be to go on an attacking rampage. One would lick everyone to death and then they'd both get hit by cars most likely

Edited November 7, 2012 by donatella

[Kirislin]

Brave lady, at least if they find the dog there's a good chance it will be identified by a wound to its ear. What a horrible death for that little dog, and it was so loved, the photos she had of them together..........

[Dame Aussie]

why do these fatal attacks invariably involve larger dogs?

'cos they are often not house dogs/can escape easier/are not properly socialised because they are 'guarding' the house /are not under full control as owners do not have the skills /..are perhaps of a certain temperament bred for specifically ..

And because they're bigger, a bigger dog will normally be able to do more damage than a small one. I'd guess we don't hear about lots of minor attacks where small dogs were involved and there were no serious injuries because the dog was small and easier to be kicked off etc.

If my dogs got out one day the last thing they would do would be to go on an attacking rampage. One would lick everyone to death and then they'd both get hit by cars most likely

Of course, because you're a good owner!

[Maddy]

and every owner of a large breed dog needs to start thinking about why these kinds of incidents keep happening, and how they can make sure to the best of their abilities that their dog is never in a position where they could do the same. No one is perfect and any dog is capable of such an act and sometimes it only takes a second or momentary lapse for the dog to have the chance, sadly though some dog "types" are far better equipped to cause terrible trauma and death than others, and whilst irresponsible owners who gravitate towards that type of animal are able to get them unregistered, probably not from sound breeding, (I would be willing to bet entire) sadly the days of responsible people being able to have them at all will be numbered. Not saying it's right, just stating the obvious based on history.

Every owner of a smaller breed dog needs to think about the same thing.

Our dogs have been attacked several times by smaller dogs (ironically, JRT crosses, mostly) and one of my dogs is now quite reactive to smaller dogs as a result of being nipped at, jumped on, mounted and barked at by aggressive small dogs that are always offleash (the dog in question is always kept on leash, as is the law).

We see plenty of examples of other larger dogs becoming reactive to small dogs because the owners of small dogs seem to be under the impression that because their dog is small, it can't cause harm- failing to realise that harm is much more than just physical damage.

Having a go at larger dogs generally is as thoughtless and ignorant as BSL- body size is no different from body shape; it does not determine how likely a dog is to attack another dog. Of course more physical damage could be done but that's only one side of the story and certainly not a reason to go on the attack and sling blame around.

If you want to play the blame game, here's a good likely suspect- the owners of the two attacking dogs. They did the wrong thing. That does not mean all owners of large dogs do the wrong thing though and it certainly doesn't mean that irresponsible owners are more likely to be attracted to larger dogs. I've met plenty of idiot owners who have had small, fluffy dogs.