Owners should pay for dog attacks

IT was not nice to read about the dog being attacked by another dog here in Ballajura.

As far as dogs being out without leads, unfortunately it is not unusual, as I have to report dogs at times wandering the street near my house.

There have been times when I have had my dog (he never goes off his lead except inside my property) down at the oval behind the South Ballajura Primary School for a run on his long lead and I have seen a dog running loose and cannot see anyone around who might belong to the dog, so I turn around and come home with mine.

Dog attacks can happen for many reasons.

The attacking dog might be usually a guard dog and sees other dogs and people as the ones they are meant to attack to do their job; they might not be well; they might get teased and/or abused a lot and so are terrified, and sometimes there is no definitive reason for the attack.

These attacks are terrifying for all concerned and the owner of the dog who does the attack should have to pay any expenses to the victims, whether it be vet bills or doctor/hospital bills. However I do not think it should be an automatic death sentence for the dog as they are unable to speak as to what caused the attack.

I love dogs, I do not think I could live without a dog or a cat, or maybe even both, as they are great companions.

MARGARET RYAN,

Ballajura.