It is impossible to imagine the grief, sense of loss and the sense of guilt and self reproach obtaining in the household of the family in Monmouthshire (https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c0exdqpv3vvo) who have suffered the most grievous loss of a baby to a dog attack. The police have not released the details but one can imagine a situation when a family pet suddenly turns and attacks the most vulnerable member of that family and kills them.
At this point many may suggest that there is some blame/responsibility to be placed on that family. My answer? Not necessarily so. I will relate to you all a happening which happily turned out to be minor:
I take a regular walk. Not so long ago I was walking on the pavement (sidewalk) up the road that leads to my property when a neighbour came out walking his dog. We began a conversation. Two minutes into this conversation, the dog, without any signs of prior warning (no growling, no snarling no barking) suddenly lunged forward and bit me. Thankfully the animal released its grip after a moment. I was not really injured as I had some layers of clothing that served as protection.
At this point I must stress that NO blame whatsoever attached to the owner! This because the dog was on a lead (something that is often not observed round where I live). The dog gave no warning nor had the dog ever behaved like this before. The attack came as a complete shock to we two humans!
Needless to say, the dog’s owner was beside himself and was desperate to apologise. I accepted his apology.
Whilst the discomfort I experienced lasted two or three days, the concern of the dog’s owner about his dog will last the dog’s lifetime.
I myself was raised in a dog free household. This was a great loss to my father who with his first wife (he was a widower) had always had a dog – as had his father – as had his brother – as had his sister. You see, my father was the son of a well to do farmer who was the son of another well to do farmer. Well to do farmers – and not so well to do farmers – own dogs! Dog ownership amongst farmers is as common as mobile phone ownership amongst estate agents!
After my father proposed to my mother, there was a firm understanding that there would be NO dog in the house! This was for various reasons, but one would have been the fear that a dog could endanger a young child – that turned out to be Moi.
My advice to all parents of young children with dogs: Be aware of the potential danger. Take sensible and reasonable precautions.
You see, I live in a community that has a very high level of per capita dog ownership. I hear many dog owners refer to their pets as “boy” or “girl”. I don’t say anything. If I had President Trump’s penchant for making obviously incendiary statements, I might interject that their pet is not a boy or a girl but a dog! But then I live my life without the need to seemingly make needlessly divisive statements.