This is one of few charities i would ever think about donating to, due to family reasons... But what about this story, or is it dogs will be dogs? ..................................................................................... Attacks on guide dogs by other dogs have reached a new high of more than eight a month, a charity has said. Guide Dogs, which campaigns for blind and partially sighted people, said police should be able to treat an attack on an assistance dog "like an attack on a person". It also called for the introduction of compulsory microchipping for all dogs. The government is consulting on ways to tackle dangerous dogs and said microchipping was being considered. The charity said attacks had risen consistently in recent years, and the latest figure was up from seven a month in September 2011. Campaign manager David Cowdrey said: "An attack on any dog is frightening, but for a guide dog owner it is much worse. "As well as physical injuries, each dog attack leaves a deep psychological scar for both the owner and the guide dog. "In the worst cases guide dogs have to be retired early; in others they are left unable to work for a significant amount of time." He added: "Ultimately, we want [police] to be given the power to treat an attack on a guide dog or any other assistance dog like an attack on a person." Jemma Brown, 23, whose guide dog Gus has been attacked six times, said one of the worst incidents occurred outside a coffee shop in Southampton. "This dog came charging towards us. It pinned Gus to the floor and the dog's owners couldn't get the dog to let go, so they started punching it in the head. "But they caught Gus a few times too and he was left concussed. He couldn't work for three weeks." Ministers announced plans in April to crack down on dangerous dogs and a consultation on the proposals closes on 15 June. A spokesman for the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs added: "Compulsory microchipping to help police and local authorities deal with problem dogs is one measure we are consulting on and in future it will be a criminal offence not to keep your dog under control on any private property."
My boy is microchiped and I cant see why any one would be against it. It does not hurt the dog getting it done and that chip has my name, address and telephone number on. Its there for one reason on my case, if Osca ran off, he would be picked up by the dog warden and I would get a phone call to collect at a cost to me of £20.00. I don't have a problem with any of that.
agreed, if I let Osca run free and he attacked a child the microchip would lead to me, and so it should. if I decided to dump him and he was picked up it would lead back to me, and so it should. Osca is always on his lead, its a long one with me on the other end to control him. He has slipped his lead a few times, never bothers now, and when he has I have caught him, well he lets me. The chip is there just in case, a safeguard.
Couldn't agree more. I also agree with the idea that a guide dog attack should be viewed as an assault on a human, because the guide dog is not a pet, it is the person's 'eyes' and their main support to leading an independent life.
I like the chip idea, it will also stop the theft of dogs. If your dog goes missing, you can find it on the chip system, and if some scruffy chav who nicked it lies and claims it's his/her dog and there's no way you can prove he/she nicked, there'll be a chip inside the dog that you can scan, so the original owner will get his/her dog back and the **** who stole it will get jailed.
Asked a vet to chip my dog 20 odd years ago. ffs i thought i had grew a new head. He actually called me barbaric. Thick tw*t.
Over here in Oz, it is compulsory. If your dog is chipped and de-sexed, then insurance premiums go down, as do vet bills. They charge more if neither of the aforementioned are done.
If you chip your dog, does it run faster? Lol Not a dog or cat person and it pisses me off to still see dog **** all over the place. That should carry a much higher punishment for the owner imo. Public lashing comes to mind. If I catch the dirty twat who let's his dog **** on my garden, I'll be posting the results through his letter box. Dogs that attack kids is another thing that ****s me over. How many more times are we going to let this happen before these menaces are banned? Some breeds of dog are already deemed illegal to own and that list should be increased or more strict procedures put in place to stop the bad owners. If a dog attacked my daughter, I'd do a lengthy spell at her majestys because I'd bray the **** out of the owner. I find a lot of dog owners and I have friends and family in this category, to be very selfish and think dogs should have the same rights as people. They shouldnt. Dogs are animals. No more. As for blind dogs being attacked, I find that an incredible story. How can anyone allow that to happen?
I'm neither a dog lover or hater, a strange thing coming from a dog owner but I ended up with Osca by default. He was abused at his last home then dumped, came to stay with me for one week and never left, I am now an Osca lover. Osca has taught me a lot about animals, dogs in particular and Cest is right, he is an animal and not above humans, that said he is far above some humans I have met. He is a simple sole, I feed him, make sure he always has water, give him a home, some treats, far to many treats TBH, show him love. In return he allows me to and trusts me totally, yes its an unbalanced deal. To Osca we are people and children are just little people, if a child tries to stick a finger in hi eye he does not know the child is playing so he may fight back, I don't know. I'm 99% sure that Osca would never attack or hurt anyone but I can never be 100% sure. Its because of that 1% that Osca is always on a lead when we are out, I can only be 100% sure I can control him when he is on a lead, if he was running free and I called him back he would come, but he would only have to not come once for it to be a problem so I don't take that risk. It's very simple to me, but then I am a simple person, I love Osca to bits but if he attacked a child, or indeed an adult, I would not blame him I would blame me because in giving Osca a home I have taken on a responsibility, I know the dangers, he does not, like Cest says, he is only an animal.
The missus and daughter were harringing me for years about getting a dog and I finally gave in last year to keep them happy more than anything else. We had the dog chipped immediately and I do think it should be compulsory. The dog is like Osca in that he is really soft and I don't think he would ever do anything but nevertheless every time we take him where there are going to be loads of people he has a halter on the wraps around his nose because I am not going to take any chances. My daughter did the Race for Life with him on Sunday and there were loads of kids fussing about him all of the time - he was really good but I would have been happier if the parents could have controlled their kids a bit better because some of them were virtually jumping on him without asking. Some people seem to think that it is just the dog owner that needs to be responsible and it is true that the burden for making sure that the dog is behaved is with the owner but for me everybody needs to be responsible around dogs.
If you take your dog into a public place Riever, where there are kids, then its not their responsibility to behave around the dog but yours to ensure your dog behaves around them. Kids take precedence over dogs in a public place and at any event or show where humans have organised. This is the point. Dog owners think their dogs have the same rights as humans and should be treated likewise. They don't. They are pets that should be kept in check around people. Not everyone thinks its amusing to have a dog running amok and jumping up at people. Most dog owners think its all very amusing. If I come into your house then that's different as its my decision to enter the dogs territory but outside the home, dogs have no rights above humans at any venture.
Wor Skip (see avatar) has just had 6k's worth of surgery (thank **** for insurance) and wor Jack is a Lab retreiver with mental issues, I'll PM you my bank details
sorry Cest but how can you accuse dog owners of being selfish then come out with that, What we are saying is yes dog owners must be responsible but surely so should parents. I resent anyone who would accuse me of being a selfish dog owner, read my post and it says why. Yes a dog is an animal but in this day and age Cest even animals have some rights, even in Chester.
