Dogs on the loose

Press, Volume CXIV, Issue 33612, 14 August 1974, Page 14

Dogs on the loose

The current exchange of letters between readers of “The Press” on “Dogs on the loose” was started bv two correspondents, "We Do Care ”, who said that they had counted 18 roaming dogs, but only nine persons, on one occasion on the streets of South Brighton Some of the dogs were dirty, children had been bitten, streets fouled, and gardens damaged They suggested a " steep increase ” in annual licence fees to reduce the number of dogs kept as household pets. Some of the letters replying to “ We Do Care ” < including most of those of more than 150 words which could not be accepted for publication) defended the dog as man’s best friend, a loval and intelligent beast which tended his Hocks, guided the steps of blind humans, and defended his home and children against intruders: all this is true, but irrelevant.

People who keep dogs in South Brighton, or in any other built-up area, should be prepared to train, feed, and control their animals adequately. A half-fed. untrained animal allowed to roam at will is likely to terrorise small children, tear open plastic or paner litter bags, and damage cherished gardens. The larger breeds—notably the Alsatian—tend to revert to their instinctive hunting habits and. if they find their way to a farm on the outskirts of the city, they can do cruel harm to a flock of sheep. Smaller breeds cause annovance by digging in neighbours gardens, defecating on footpaths and lawns, or—if they are hungry or uncomfortable —by repeated barking

All these acts, it will be noted, are natural to dogs: it is no criticism of the dogs but of their owners to list the habits of dogs which, in an urban environment, cause distress or discomfort to others. Anyone who decides to keep a dog in a city should be aware, before succumbing to the appeal of a friendlv pup. that it will require patient training, firm handling, supervised exercise, and proper feeding and housing. An irresponsible dog owner should be deprived of his pet and made to pay for Its board in commercial kennels until a new owner can be found or the animal destroyed. None of the metropolitan local bodies has sufficient dog catchers to supervise the thousands of dogs in Christchurch, but a concerted campaign—perhaps enlisting the services of the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, the Canine Obedience Club, and even some of the environmental roups—to rid the streets of roaming dogs would surely be feasible. Thereafter, much stricter control of dog licensing and breeding should be possible, paticularly if annual licence fees are raised to whatever level is required to finance the system.