DANGEROUS DOGS

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 8, Issue 50, 20 February 1945, Page 4

DANGEROUS DOGS

Sir—ln answer to Aunt Mary's* letter on dogs I heartily agi'ee with, her that it is a pitiful sight to see a small chiid brought up to fear animals. However, I fail to see that the remedy lies in chaining all dogs along the child's line of route. For one thing some day he might deviate from that route and encounter some unchained beast.

The remedy I would suggest is for the parents to procure a dog as his own pet for the little chap. Then he would lcarn s in taking care of it what a darn, good pal a dog can be to a small nervous boy. He would learn that dogs must bark and run and jump and tear round just like a boy. He would become wisher than Aunt Mary as he would learn that a dog kept on a chain will become savage as a human would. Incidentally he would never make the-mis-take many boys of teasing dogs on his way to 'school making them bark and snarl for fun t thereby lay-, ing up trouble for some other small child.

As regards the clog census of Domain Road this question has two sides as the section under discussion lias two footpaths both used by the children and always have been. On the north side live seven dogs and on ..the south side four. This number is at times alarmingly swelled by at least seven visiting dogs from far and near. I have lived in Domain Road for 17 years now and the dogs have always been here. Sometimes more sometimes less and in that time, although I have comforted many a weeping tot passing by I have never heard of any being bitten by dogs. This shows great restraint on the part of the considering the amount of teasing some of the. little boys indulge in at times. I was just thinking that the owners of some of the little feet that trod this same lane of dogs, in. days gone by and are now in for distant battle stations might tell us out of their wide experie.nce > that we are lucky to live in a land where a dog still barks and is happy and children meet no greater menace on their way to school. Yours etc. AUNT JEMIMA.