I have just read the following article on a news site...
"A 39-year-old man has been charged following a dog attack in Loughborough.
The incident took place at about 9.30am on Sunday January 23 in some fields near Pear Tree Lane and Hathern Drive, Loughborough.
A woman was walking her terrier dog in the fields when her dog was approached by two weimaraner dogs and attacked. The terrier died after sustaining serious injuries during the incident.
The man has been charged with having a dog dangerously out of control in a public place and will be appearing at Loughborough Magistrates Court on February 16."
The incident took place at about 9.30am on Sunday January 23 in some fields near Pear Tree Lane and Hathern Drive, Loughborough.
A woman was walking her terrier dog in the fields when her dog was approached by two weimaraner dogs and attacked. The terrier died after sustaining serious injuries during the incident.
The man has been charged with having a dog dangerously out of control in a public place and will be appearing at Loughborough Magistrates Court on February 16."
It suprises and saddens me that this is still happening. Yes, man has managed to domesticate the dog...but the fact that they have descended from wild animals with natural instincts should never be forgotten! The Weimaraner breed was naturally bred to be a hunting dog, originally boar, bear and deer and as large game hunting declined they were continued to be used as hunting dogs for smaller animals such as rabbits and foxes. So with 2 Weimaraners and a small terrier...it was obvious who was going to come off worse.
I believe that people should be able to let their dogs off a lead to exercise them. But this should be paired with the ability to control the dogs, especially in a situation like this. When people choose a dog they should be responsible and look into the history of the breed and put work into the dog to make sure this sort of thing doesn't happen. Having said that I am a strong believer in not always judging a book by its cover...not every staffie, german shepherd and rottweiler are blood thirsty beasts and on the other side of the argument not every labrador, retriever and spaniel are soft and placid.
This is why at Day Care we have to be very careful when introducing a new dog to the group. They have to pass a series of questions regarding their behaviour and temperament, following that they attend an Assessment Day and are introduced to the group one dog at a time. Even after a successful Assessment Day we are constantly reading the groups behaviour and individual body language...because no-one is immune to having an off day. We have never had any problems and by maintaining our high standards we should never be at the centre of a news story similar to this!
I think I will hold off giving any further judgement on this until there is more information after the court case. I feel very sorry for the Terrier's owner, as having a pet die is bad enough with out having to watch them being attacked :(
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