Every time I hear a report of a toddler being bitten by a dog my heart sinks.
The trauma for the child, the parents, and more often than not the family or friends who owned the dog is unimaginable. And of course, it often leads to the death of the dog involved.
My other concern is that each time there’s a highly publicised attack on a child, the first reaction is a call to tighten legislation on “dangerous dogs”.
While it’s understandable that the public wants to feel safe, regulation alone won’t achieve this. Education about responsible pet ownership has to be part of the solution because just about any dog can be dangerous given the right – or rather wrong – set of circumstances.
When my kids were little we had cats, although I always hankered after a dog as well. I’ve had big dogs all my life, but my husband was a bit concerned about getting one while the kids were small.
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