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On Tuesday of this week 6th July I witnessed
something I never want to see again. In 50 years of keeping
dogs and dealing with "normal" dog fights among our
own pets I was shocked at the evil intent of the dog that attacked
to make sure it's victim would not survive.
Outside my home in Min y Ddol a dog who
had been on a rope, I assume in his garden got loose. As he
entered a street which had children playing, an Ice cream van
where children were also gathered,and neighbours coming and
going he started a fight ( the story too long to tell here)
with a small dog belonging to a neigbour. As I was alerted by
screams etc I went to the front to see this animal outside my
gate with what I thought at first to be a doll in its mouth.
It turned out to be this little dog who he swung and shook violently.
As many of us now stood, some crying, some screaming we were
powerless to do anything to confront such a big dog. The police
were phoned but to be honest, unless we have some sort of telephone
number where people can phone to report incidents of this kind
going on that they can attend immediately and deal with a dangerous
animal there is not a lot the police can do.
As time went on and what seemed like
hours but must have been minutes the dog became bored when its
victim started to give up fight. He dropped the dog on its back
for only seconds and once he saw life still in this poor animal
he opened his jaw's bigger than I had ever seen anything before
and just went in for all I can say from watching was "the
kill" he buried the dog in his mouth with one bite until
he was crushing his stomach and the dog went limp. Then content
with his achievement he shook the animal like a dish cloth with
such force. All this was witnessed by children playing, by neighbours
doing their gardens on a nice evening.
The end of the story!? Ah yes, well the
little dog was rushed to the vet by its owners but died of horrific
injuries within minutes of arriving. The vet said it was the
worst case of crushing he had ever seen, all this animals organs
were crushed. This story in itself is horrific, to watch it
happening has left people, children and adults alike traumatised,
I myself see flashbacks each time I look at the road outside
my gate. But the worst thing about this story is that although
we all feel sorry for the poor dog that died, how easy could
it have been one of the children.This quote is taken from an
area that was also suffering problems of dogs out of control
and I think it can apply to the situation here also in Maesgeirchen.
"Our children have been psychologically affected and are
fearful of going out on their own.
They have become very fearful of all dogs and still have nightmares."
The Gwynedd Council should have a policy
inforce to protect tenants from dog's which could possibly be
classed as a " dangerous breed". On this estate there
are many dog's which could fit into this catagory. No one wants
to spoil the enjoyment of being dog lovers and pet owners but
with it comes a great responsability. How many do we see roaming
loose? How many of you have mentioned how concerned you are
over your children being approached or getting caught up in
a fight among such dogs innocently because they are bystanders.
Dogs under control will not cause a problem but irrisponsible
dog owners who leave their dogs roam knowing that their breed
is probably one that could cause a problem must realise that
should anything happen they are going to bear a heavy responsability
on their shoulders should a child get hurt or even worse, killed.
Those who know me know I speak as a dog
lover and dog owner of many years who has given home to many
strays over the years. I am not "anti-dog" but "anti-vicious
dogs". I am sure you are too.If the law does not provide
adequate protection and rules to govern the safe keeping of
animals that are considered "dangerous" then the law
must be changed.
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Gwynedd County Councillor Keith Greenly-Jones . 01248
355229 