7 Year Old Girl Mauled In Central Coast Shopping Centre

[samoyedman]

http://www.smh.com.au/nsw/dog-attack-girl-...00415-sefq.html

Dog attack: girl mauled at shopping centre April 15, 2010 - 9:30AM

A girl is in hospital after being attacked by a dog on NSW's Central Coast.

The seven-year-old was bitten on her face and shoulder at a shopping centre in Avoca Drive, Kincumber about 4pm yesterday, police said.

The girl was attacked as she bent down to pat the dog - believed to be a Staffordshire bull terrier owned by a friend of her family.

She was taken to Gosford Hospital for treatment.

The dog's owner voluntarily surrendered it to Gosford City council rangers.

Its fate has not yet been determined, police said.

AAP

[BJean]

Here it comes . . .

[toy dog]

i am so angry at that, they posed the question in nine msn whether breeds of dog should be banned, most people ofcourse ignorantly said "yes".

you can't even comment at the end of the article

when are people going to get it through their thick skulls it is not the breed it is the deed!!!!!!!!

what do we do, ban all dogs, that dog could have been a poor cross and not socialised or handled properly. so the whole staffie breed gets the blame now.

grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr

Edited April 15, 2010 by toy dog

[Souff]

Can anyone else feel the "all dogs must be muzzled in public" law coming soon?

Souff

[Quickasyoucan]

I am wondering what the background to this story is. There hasn't been much relating to the girl's injuries on the news sites.

I went to a dangerous dogs seminar at TAFE given by Steve Austin I remember him saying he had been working with inner west councils in relation to some schools where they had had a cluster of dog bites from dogs tied up outside the school (because they are not allowed on the grounds). People were tying up their dogs whilst they went inside to pick up kids, strange kids were coming up to pat the cute dog, dog has no flight option from scary stranger and hey presto perfect bite conditions.

It didn't say whether or not this dog was tied up outside but I always cringe when I see dogs tied up outside shopping centres, accident waiting to happen.

SOUFF didn't you know all dogs were ticking time bombs

[WreckitWhippet]

I'd place money on crowded place, BYB dog with bad nerves and the poor kid bent over to pat it.

I reckon you're right Souff, we're getting ever closer to all dogs must be muzzled.

[toy dog]

just pure ignorance.

just had a conversation with a guy at work here that knows it all apparently, well he was talking i was forced to listen, and he said that pitbulls are bred to fight and they are dangerous and no one should own them. my friend was sitting in the background shaking her head. she has aussie bulldogs that are always confused with american pit bulls. she said people just shake their head saying they look like pitbulls to them and probably are.

no one knows what pitbulls look like. its just so stupid. i just surfed the net and came up with this link

pitbull myths

all dogs can be dangerous, hell my chihuahuas can bite and do some damage not as much as a bigger dog but they can still do damage to a person, i tried to get in but he was not listening because he obviously knows it all lol

[Souff]

SOUFF didn't you know all dogs were ticking time bombs

I certainly do ..... and I keep saying that!

And you know what, just like ticking time bombs, they should be in the hands of experts, not in the hands of the untrained or the unwise.

I do not give a rats what the breed or crossbreed is, many owners today have taken dogs into a terrible situation.

We have dog owners on this site and elsewhere making excuses for terrible things that have happened.

Expect more legislation ..... I can feel it coming.

Too many attacks on defenceless children, too many people thinking that their dogs can do no harm, too many dogs not under proper control.

Too sad for the dogs, too bad for the rest of us.

Souff

[Souff]

I'd place money on crowded place, BYB dog with bad nerves and the poor kid bent over to pat it.

I reckon you're right Souff, we're getting ever closer to all dogs must be muzzled.

I don't take any joy in the prediction SBT, but it is like a great big spotlight beaming down.

[Quickasyoucan]

http://www.smh.com.au/nsw/girl-bitten-coun...00415-sefq.html

Girl bitten: council 'can't hold dog' PAUL TATNELL

April 15, 2010 - 1:36PM

A council holding a Staffordshire bull terrier that allegedly attacked a seven-year-old girl says it could be forced to release the dog back to its owner.

The girl received bite wounds to her face and shoulder after she bent down to pat a friend's dog at Kincumber on the central coast.

The girl was treated at Gosford Hospital and released last night.

The dog was taken by Gosford City council rangers.

Compliance manager at Gosford City Council, John Parkes, said it was up to the dog's owner to decide whether the dog should be destroyed, even if the animal did pose a risk.

He said the owner’s premises would need to be secure and the dog restrained.

"There is no legal basis available to council in relation to a dog attack matter and where the dog can just be put down," he said.

"We can only act in the powers we have to us."

Mr Parkes said he expects the owner to contact the council within the next 24 hours with a decision.

He said it was up to police to decide whether any charges would be laid against the owner.

"I’ve seen a video of what actually happened and we are concerned when any dog bites anyone in a public place," Mr Parkes said.

It is understood the alleged attack was captured on CCTV, but requests for footage have been declined.

A Gosford police spokesman said the victim's family did not want a police investigation into the matter. The spokesman said without a complaint, police could not investigate further.

Councils can only decide a dog's fate if it features on the dangerous dog list created by the NSW Government. Staffordshire bull terriers do not feature on this list.

_______________________________________________

NB Bolding is mine, why wouldn't it be important to get the actual picture of what happened? Still I wonder if that means requests by the media.

Edited April 15, 2010 by Quickasyoucan

[Souff]

NB Bolding is mine, why wouldn't it be important to get the actual picture of what happened? Still I wonder if that means requests by the media.

I would suggest that the police and the shopping centre's legal team would be the most appropriate people to have the footage at this stage.

The bloodhounds in the media might have to wait a while.

Souff

[WreckitWhippet]

Councils can only decide a dog's fate if it features on the dangerous dog list created by the NSW Government. Staffordshire bull terriers do not feature on this list.

It's a resticted breed list, not a list of "dangerous dogs"

Only five breeds, one of which is covered by APBT and Pit Bull are restricted, however in NSW any individual dog can be declared "dangerous" by way of notice of intent.

I wish they'd get the very basics right

[Jenni87]

I just saw the news poll on my way to check my email and saw it and then read the article.

All I can think is

[Jed]

"I’ve seen a video of what actually happened and we are concerned when any dog bites anyone in a public place," Mr Parkes said.

It is understood the alleged attack was captured on CCTV, but requests for footage have been declined.

I do hope they will have someone with some nous look at the footage, and ascertain why this attack happened, and investigate every single attack which results in damage or a fatality, and come to some conclusions, which are then released to the public.

Whether the public heeds and understands is another matter, but some help in understanding would certainly prevent some attacks.

What was the trigger. Dog disliked children? Was on lead, and felt threatened by the child?

Some attacks would not have happened if owners could recognize the triggers to an attack, and step up to prevent the attack, but no one is educating most of them.

Most Bull Terriers are good with children, they have good nerves, and a high pain thresh-hold and they don't often bite people. So, was this a badly bred dog, with bad nerves, or a dog which was not good with children, or a dog which felt threatened by the child?

Whatever, a poor little kid is injured, the bull and terrier breeds are in the red light again.

We need to be responsible as breeders, and we need to be responsible as owners, to recognize our dogs' needs, and their foibles, and act to prevent anything like this happening.

[Adnil444]

I'd place money on crowded place, BYB dog with bad nerves and the poor kid bent over to pat it.

I reckon you're right Souff, we're getting ever closer to all dogs must be muzzled.

I don't take any joy in the prediction SBT, but it is like a great big spotlight beaming down.

I think you're right as well. It's the deed not the breed is always brought up whenever there is an attack. However when attacks happen, councils, police etc end up having no option but to ban breeds. Pubic opinion is that they want to see something being done, anything, even if it doesn't work - I wish this wasn't the case, but they can't ban people which is the issue. We all know that in most cases, it is the owners of these dogs, not necessarily the breed, but how can you ban people, how to you control/police who can have a dog or who can have a dog of a certain breed??? I don't know the answer - more education yes, but look at drivers in society - there are plenty on the roads every day that could kill themselves and/or any one of us, but they keep posing problems for everyone - look at the laws regarding driving and those that continually break the law, it will always be a problem. Just like with dogs that have owners that have no idea and the eventual outcome is an attack. There will always be dog attacks unfortunately. It goes without saying that more and more people are having dogs as pets and therefore statistically there will be more attacks.

Both my dogs are not dog or people aggressive, though I could never say 100% that they wouldn't attack, I'm pretty sure they won't, but I don't think anyone can say that their dog will never attack. Personally if a law was brought in that all dogs in public (not dog parks) had to wear a muzzle, I really don't have an issue with this. Yes it goes against the grain and I wouldn't like it, but if this step stops any child/person from being attacked, then why not??? What inconvenience would it be to anyone to ensure that their dog wore a muzzle apart from maybe a bruised ego. We all have to wear a seat belt in a car (and now with coaches). But I suppose again it will be the responsible owners that did apply the muzzle and not the irresponsible ones which is where the problem begins with. I wish I knew the answer to this horrible situation.

These are just my opinions.

[Zhou Xuanyao]

Forget about all dogs having to be muzzled. Few would listen, even fewer would be motivated to enforce it, and even if they did, like I say, few would listen it would fall in a heap, not gonna happen.

[Black Bronson]

I get really annoyed hearing about these incidents with dogs biting kids and the course of action being appropriate to put the dog down. Dogs of any breed can bite kids at any time, I can think of a dozen dogs I know that probably would bite kids in certain circumstances, but why don't dog owners take some responsibility to prevent these attacks happening

[mita]

I went to a dangerous dogs seminar at TAFE given by Steve Austin I remember him saying he had been working with inner west councils in relation to some schools where they had had a cluster of dog bites from dogs tied up outside the school (because they are not allowed on the grounds). People were tying up their dogs whilst they went inside to pick up kids, strange kids were coming up to pat the cute dog, dog has no flight option from scary stranger and hey presto perfect bite conditions.

It didn't say whether or not this dog was tied up outside but I always cringe when I see dogs tied up outside shopping centres, accident waiting to happen.

Totally agree with you on this. I also see dogs tied up outside our local shopping centre....many of them stressed because their owner is not in sight.

Children of all ages passing by & some making a bee-line to 'pat the dog'. Yes, perfect conditions for an incident.

Also agree about the need to keep emphasising 'deed not breed'. On the same day this incident happened where a 'staffie' bit a child, thousands of staffies didn't bite a child....& are likely to never do so.

When there's a car accident, people don't shriek....'Ford (or Mazda or Toyota), again! Ban them!'. No, the police have an Accident Investigation Unit which examines the incident under 3 headings....the car (no, not the make, but the specific features of that car), the road conditions, and driver behaviour.

There ought to be a similar type of protocol for looking at incidents relating to dogs....by people trained in the issues.

[Aziah]

I heard on the radio this morning that the dog (stated as 'Bull Terrier') was being held at the pound (?) and was to be released and it would be up to the owners as to whether or not it would be euthanised.

The above makes me wonder what really happened, it's not often that a dog involved in an attack gets such a reprieve?

[poodlefan]

Where was the dog's owner?

Where was the child's parent?

And people wonder why so many here advise dog owners NEVER to leave their dogs tied up unattended.

I have stopped a parent from allowing a child to approach a dog tied up outside my local shops. I explained that it was a bad lesson to teach a child and a big risk to take with an unknown dog. Surprisingly, after thinking about it, he agreed.

Edited April 15, 2010 by poodlefan