7 Year Old Girl Mauled In Central Coast Shopping Centre

[Sandra777]

I know for a FACT that my dog would not do that.

Lucky you to have a dog with no teeth. I am 99.8% confident that none of mine would react like that to a normal approach from a non threatening person. I would never gamble their lives on the assumption they would never react like that regardless of the circumstances.

And if I had any concerns at all, I would not take them somewhere like a shopping centre!

I would never put any of mine in a situation where harm could be done to them by moronic people so no I would never ever take them to a shopping centre and leave them tied up alone - however that is because I don't trust people to have brains not because I don't trust the dog.

[Zhou Xuanyao]

Why is it that when I was a kid, and rather stupidly bent over to pat a dog and got bitten on the face, the only focus was on whether or not I'd had a tetanus shot, and now, it's "PTS the dangerous dog!"

The dog was more than likely just threatened by an intimidating stance from a stranger, as was the one that bit me, which incidentally was not one of the breeds targeted by BSL.

Unwrap the bloody cotton wool people! :D

Let's go back to the days when you tell kids "If you bend over a strange dog you're likely to get bitten" and when they do, say "You should have listened to your parents, we tell you these things for a reason, now you have to have a big yukky needle."

Society is so damn delicate these days, whatever happened to teaching consequences and taking responsibility for your own actions. Pathetic.

Thats absolutely right. And you would be lucky if 5% of Australians agreed with you.

Today it is all about blaming the other guy (or animal, or tide, or alignment of planets) in any way possible. Everyone wants to be absolved of any wrong doing or fault under any circumstances, common sense is not important. The adults are like that, so what hope do the kids have of ever learning any different.

Our society is going down the toilet in some ways. We are following in the footsteps of England which from what I can make out is even worse.

[persephone]

Let's go back to the days when you tell kids "If you bend over a strange dog you're likely to get bitten" and when they do, say "You should have listened to your parents, we tell you these things for a reason, now you have to have a big yukky needle."

Society is so damn delicate these days, whatever happened to teaching consequences and taking responsibility for your own actions. Pathetic.

YES!!!!!

[Labs4me]

It has discussed me for many years peoples additues to animals with they get hurt.

Not once do they stop to think, hey maybe I did soemthing wrong here, or I would I react if the situation was reversed?

When I was 7-8yrs I had fallen in love with a trail ride horse and my mother bought it for me.

He was quite aggressive, bit & kicked every one. Didn't put me off.

I manged to go yrs with this horse without harm till one day, lost in the clouds and not watching where I was walking, I found myself face-to-face with his rump.

I got a huge fright, so did he. I next felt searing pain as his rear hoof connected with my kneecap.

A workman was close by and quickly came to see if I was alright.

He starting calling the horse stupid & stuff. I only got defencive and told him firmly no, it was my fault, not his.

At 14yrs just walking down the street, just as I past a house with no yard, a huge German shepard (I was still small at 14) came charging at me nipping at my hand.

Time seemed to slow and remember telling myself no to run. I opened my hand & stiffened it so he couldn't nip me so much and allow him to smell that Im not a treat.

Very quickly s/he calmed. I then approched the house to inform the owners of there dogs behavior and a yard would be needed.

No one was home, and being 14 I forgot about it by the next day.

At 17yrs I was picking up a 2yr old Harrier that I just bought.

I borrowed a car to pick him up, it happened to be a flat top ute. So had no be restained for his safety.

The ex ownwer brought him out & wanted to tie him himself to the ute.

I was on the side of the tray waiting for him to do that, then without warning, the dog leaped of the ute.

Added to my supprise, the lenght was too long, instintively I cought the dog so he wouldn't hang.

He latched onto my forearm, ouch. The exowner paniced and asked what he could do.

I told him he could untie him while I supported him. He couldn't said it was too tight.

I then noticed it was in fact a slip knot around his neck. Omg, who does that. Someone that age (30+) should know better.

I had to wait with the dog still on my arm as he fetched a knife to cut him free.

The moment he was freed, he released myt arm. He was not hurt, just very shaken up by the ordeal.

To the ex-owners supprise, I still took the dog home. He never had another insident of biting and was never tied up again.

20 yrs on, I have never been harmed again by another animal and a strong beliver of a dogs actions are very easily the results of peoples ignorant actions or unfair (no win) situation a dog has been placed in.

Just like a drowing swimmer can bring down there rescuer out of fear.

People just need to put themselves in the place of the animal, and ask themselves what would they do...

ETA: Just wanted to add that I very much feel for the poor girl that was harmed and don't belive it was her fault, but harmed as a result of other peoples mistakes/ingorance. The council sould NOT be encouraging dog owners to put their animals in a situation that can lead to harm. IMO both girl and dog are the victims here.

Edited April 19, 2010 by Labs4me

[Crisovar]

Why is it that when I was a kid, and rather stupidly bent over to pat a dog and got bitten on the face, the only focus was on whether or not I'd had a tetanus shot, and now, it's "PTS the dangerous dog!"

The dog was more than likely just threatened by an intimidating stance from a stranger, as was the one that bit me, which incidentally was not one of the breeds targeted by BSL.

Unwrap the bloody cotton wool people!

Let's go back to the days when you tell kids "If you bend over a strange dog you're likely to get bitten" and when they do, say "You should have listened to your parents, we tell you these things for a reason, now you have to have a big yukky needle."

Society is so damn delicate these days, whatever happened to teaching consequences and taking responsibility for your own actions. Pathetic.

Yep, had my ass kicked all the way down the street after I got bitten by a neighbours dog I broke a rule, dog bit me. Dog and I both lived, I learnt a valuable lesson.

[hortfurball]

Where was the dog's owner in all of this? Why did he bring a dog like that to a crowded place and allow it to bite a child? People need to take some responsibility for their dogs! They cannot just be bought and disregarded. They must be trained, socialised, etc. I know for a FACT that my dog would not do that. I know it. And if I had any concerns at all, I would not take them somewhere like a shopping centre! Perhaps instead of banning puppies in pet shops, we should all be pushing for mandatory obedience classes or something along those lines. If you want to impulse buy a dog, fine, but now you put in the hard work to make sure it becomes an acceptable member of society. Of couse, I don't know where this dog came from but it obviously hasn't had the training or socialisation that it needed.

So I'm guessing the highly trained police dog that bit an interviewer on TV when he leaned over the dog was disregarded, not socialised, and lacking in obedience???

Seriously, a dog is a dog. Sometimes they bite when threatened. The trick is to not put them in the situation where they feel the need to (and never stick your hand in front of one who's aiming for your other dog, as I also learned the hard way ) Not everything can be blamed on lack of socialisation and training and even the best trained and socialised dogs can surprise you.

[chrisjc]

i can say i dont think that my dog will bite anyone unless being put in a situation where she feels threatned. ive also never let here be put in a position where she would feel threatened.

due to the last six monthes and the exposure that the bull breeds have been given i am finding myself changing my actions when walking out in public with her. i used to walk head on into people if they didnt have a dog walking with them[kimba is a faily da towards certain dogs and sometimes i just dont want to have to trust her] and proudly make her listen to me and get her to sit or drop until the people coming towards me can see she poses no threat, they usually get that idea by her whole body wagging and her other language.

i started by walking heracross the road when i saw people with kids were coming.

gradually i decided to just "be safe" and cross the road if it was anyone at all.

i now walk her late at night too late for anyone at all to be around. its now 12:10pm and weve just got home.

i understand that my own paranoia of prevention is getting extreme over the bullbreed thing but i just have to deal with it, after all it was my initial choice wasnt it. i am getting gradually very tired and am missing the hours of sleep i seem to be not getting anymore.

how anyone can be stupid enough to leave anydog tied up in a shopping centre unsupervised and exosed to any moron who can harras it with nowhere to go, or who cant supervise their own children astounds me.

how many more children are going to have to be hurt and have micro or plastic surgery because of someone elses stupidity before these thing can change.

i was attacked by a large dog when i was four years of age and nearly died, needing hours of surgery and huge blood loss due to numerous puncyures in my neck and face. i am lucky enough to have been gifted with rugged good looks that a few small scars about my face has only aided me in life[sorry i had to have some fun with it].

i think we should be putting down the parents and the pet owners for putting their loved ones in these positions where they will be put in these situations, regardless of if that loved one is a dog or a child.

[Black Bronson]

The latest report in the Daily Telegraph in Sydney said the dog was tied up at a special dog station. Thses stations have been popping up apparently all over the place. The eldest girl patted the dog and there was no problem, and then a little bit later, the youngest girl bent down to pat the dog and he bit her. The dog was apparently drinking water from a bowl at the time.

See here;

http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/nsw-...i-1225854291577

Dog attack exposes risky fad

PET "parking" station safety has been called into question after a seven-year-old girl was mauled outside a shopping centre on Wednesday.

Popular in parts of Europe, pet stations emerged in Australia two years ago as a way of encouraging people to walk to the shops instead of drive.

But the stands - fitted with a water bowl and a poop bag dispenser - are a magnet for children who approach tethered dogs thinking they are safe.

A walk to the Kincumber shops on the Central Coast for some lollies "like they had done every other day" of the school holidays ended in hospital for dog-lover Paige Staff.

After her older sister Anais, 9, patted a staffordshire bull terrier while it was drinking, the seven-year-old bent down for her turn.

The dog snapped and savaged the girl, latching on to her face and shoulder.

Without regard for her own safety Anais dived between them and dragged her sister to safety.

"I patted the dog and afterwards Paige went to go and pat it and it just jumped on her and bit her," Anais said.

Parents Trevor and Dianne said they knew the dog's owner and knew she was a responsible pet owner.

"It would make it easier if we didn't know her," Mrs Staff said.

"But she's the loveliest woman, she feels absolutely gutted. She said 'I would have never taken him out if I knew he had that inclination'."

Mr Staff said his daughter probably "loves dogs too much".

Leading dog trainer Steve Austin slammed the emergence of pet stations as "the height of irresponsibility".

"Tying a dog up and leaving it alone is a recipe for disaster," he said.

The owner surrendered the dog to rangers to be destroyed

It saddens me to think of this "moral protocol" to PTS a dog that bites a child. Only the child or parent had the power to prevent this situation by leaving other people's dogs alone. It was tied up and no danger to anyone.........why interfere with the dog I was taught as a child not to approach other people's dogs which IMO should be the standard protocol, not do as you please with other people's dogs then PTS if it bites someone If the dog is roaming and approaching people with aggression that's a different story, but not this situation.

[Zhou Xuanyao]

chris, if other people have a problem that is there problem not yours. Don't let them influence you like that. Why should you wait until night time to walk your dog or cross the street that is absolutely ridiculous. What do you mean it was your choice ? Sure it was your choice, and you did not do anything wrong.

Don't let them drag you down with them.

[persephone]

i started by walking heracross the road when i saw people with kids were coming.

gradually i decided to just "be safe" and cross the road if it was anyone at all.

i now walk her late at night too late for anyone at all to be around. its now 12:10pm and weve just got home.

so now your dog never gets to walk around in daylight? That's sad...

[Robbi]

i started by walking heracross the road when i saw people with kids were coming.

gradually i decided to just "be safe" and cross the road if it was anyone at all.

i now walk her late at night too late for anyone at all to be around. its now 12:10pm and weve just got home.

so now your dog never gets to walk around in daylight? That's sad...

When I first took Abbie(BullArabx)to Glenelg to have a walk along th beach with my Whippet and my sisters little terrier, I had a woman try to pat the whippet and be very rude to Abbie(she screamed at her and called her an ugly Pitbull)I was so upset and angry at how a complete stranger had judged her by looks alone and considered not taking her out in public until after dark but I am not going to be intimidated by uneducated and rude village idiots.

We are commencing obediance training and I am going to take Abbie on outings that my other dogs go on beach/hills walks and I will proudly say that she is a bully type BUT I will also be extra cautious and aware that everything she does in public will be being scrutinized by the dog haters

[chrisjc]

They are not my actions that are making me act this way but others and in a twisted way its a form of protection, i know i am going overboard thats just how i am feeling at the moment.

i use to walk the same dog down jetty rd glenelg 8 years ago and she would be treated like some exotic princess, the only time she would get a bad reaction was if i was asked about "what type of staffy she is".

i wont do this forever it just feels easier for now, with all the attention thats getting thrown in this direction.

i am paranoid that if on some odd chance that she over reacts towards someones child and sctatches them with her claw this may be classed as a attack. my daytime walks just seem to be filled with less joy these days, and since being back in my old haunts i am finding that up too three times week, i am dealing with someones yelling at me from a car or across the road to "shoot it" or something across those lines.

last time we walked in the afternoon, across the road there was a little girl with her nanna waving at the puppy with all the joy of a young child, but i am seeing this as a major risk for the "one time" that goes wrong.

Its not like i dont trust the dog , i dont trust the people.

sorry to hijack the thread.

[hortfurball]

It saddens me to think of this "moral protocol" to PTS a dog that bites a child. Only the child or parent had the power to prevent this situation by leaving other people's dogs alone. It was tied up and no danger to anyone.........why interfere with the dog I was taught as a child not to approach other people's dogs which IMO should be the standard protocol, not do as you please with other people's dogs then PTS if it bites someone If the dog is roaming and approaching people with aggression that's a different story, but not this situation.

Yay! Someone agrees with me. (ETA: not to discount the people who commented favourably on my earlier post, just a different point here) I think there is a big difference between a dog that approaches with aggression and a dog that reacts to an unknown situation or person, and yet there are those even on this forum who have the 'PTS if it bites ever, under any circumstances' mentality. The argument seems to be that once it has bitten, it can never be trusted. Well I'm sure the dog that told me it didn't like people bending over it didn't go on to become a mad killing machine. Probably never bit anyone else in it's life.

sorry to hijack the thread.

No worries, it's all related. I'm sorry that you feel it necessary to walk your dog late at night to avoid the ignorant and judgmental. What a shitty area that people yell 'Shoot it'. Must make you feel gutted when that happens. Give your girl a cuddle for me.

Just out of curiosity, was the girl 'bitten' or 'mauled'? The older sister is saying bitten but the media is going with the usual mauling. A snap or a bite isn't the same as someone who's been 'mauled'. Anyone see any pics of the damage?

Edited April 20, 2010 by hortfurball

[Livi]

It saddens me to think of this "moral protocol" to PTS a dog that bites a child. Only the child or parent had the power to prevent this situation by leaving other people's dogs alone. It was tied up and no danger to anyone.........why interfere with the dog I was taught as a child not to approach other people's dogs which IMO should be the standard protocol, not do as you please with other people's dogs then PTS if it bites someone If the dog is roaming and approaching people with aggression that's a different story, but not this situation.

While it is sad there is one other person who had the power to prevent this, the dog owner.

Personally I don't think children should be allowed to go to the shops alone unless they can be trusted not to pat dogs that are tied up without their owner (among other things but that is a whole other topic)

However I also don't think dogs who can't cope with an innocent child patting them should be left tied up alone.

Who really knows what their dog can cope with until tested ? Most of us haven't got a clue.

Some have got a clue but are of the belief that everyone should know better than to go near a dog that is tied up, that just isn't acceptable these days.

[Kirty]

In the 'old days', if a dog bit someone it was often given a bullet! Don't kid yourself that dog bites were not taken as seriously 'back then'. If a dog is unstable enough to bite a child because it feels threatened, it should be PTS. If a human's first reaction to being startled or scared was to punch the offending person in the face, would we accept that?

[LOLAFOLATA]

Why is it that when I was a kid, and rather stupidly bent over to pat a dog and got bitten on the face, the only focus was on whether or not I'd had a tetanus shot, and now, it's "PTS the dangerous dog!"

The dog was more than likely just threatened by an intimidating stance from a stranger, as was the one that bit me, which incidentally was not one of the breeds targeted by BSL.

Unwrap the bloody cotton wool people!

Let's go back to the days when you tell kids "If you bend over a strange dog you're likely to get bitten" and when they do, say "You should have listened to your parents, we tell you these things for a reason, now you have to have a big yukky needle."

Society is so damn delicate these days, whatever happened to teaching consequences and taking responsibility for your own actions. Pathetic.

Here Here Hotfurball,

What tha!!!! Time everyone took ownership!!! Some 20 years ago, (around 5) my daughter was bitten on face by my parents old labx 3 stitches to her face (still has scar). She tells me now, as adult , and dog owner, she was wanting to see how "Goldie" would react to pliers attached to ear and connected to electric fence

She was lucky to come off with what she did, and knows it, now!! Goldie lived to very old age and never bit another soul!X Generally, dogs not usually at fault in any aggression scenarios. If circumstances fully known, dog would be innocent victim in most cases IMO.

[Black Bronson]

It saddens me to think of this "moral protocol" to PTS a dog that bites a child. Only the child or parent had the power to prevent this situation by leaving other people's dogs alone. It was tied up and no danger to anyone.........why interfere with the dog I was taught as a child not to approach other people's dogs which IMO should be the standard protocol, not do as you please with other people's dogs then PTS if it bites someone :D If the dog is roaming and approaching people with aggression that's a different story, but not this situation.

While it is sad there is one other person who had the power to prevent this, the dog owner.

Personally I don't think children should be allowed to go to the shops alone unless they can be trusted not to pat dogs that are tied up without their owner (among other things but that is a whole other topic)

However I also don't think dogs who can't cope with an innocent child patting them should be left tied up alone.

Who really knows what their dog can cope with until tested ? Most of us haven't got a clue.

Some have got a clue but are of the belief that everyone should know better than to go near a dog that is tied up, that just isn't acceptable these days.

These days I can't believe the amount of parents that allow their kids to run up to a stranger with their dog and expect to able to pat it. Quite honestly, this mentality is what causes kids to interfere with other people's dogs as a standard practice.

[hortfurball]

In the 'old days', if a dog bit someone it was often given a bullet! Don't kid yourself that dog bites were not taken as seriously 'back then'.

Wow, did you just age me another 20 years or so? I didn't say "In the old days", I said "When I was a kid" and I'm most certainly not kidding myself about anything at all. I know for a fact that the dog was not PTS, because I hid the bite behind my hand for an hour or so because I knew I'd done what I'd been told not to and was sure I'd be getting in trouble. By the time anyone realised what had happened, said dog was long gone, never to be seen again, and the owner probably never knew either. Me and the dog were the only witnesses, but nobody demanded a witch hunt to PTS the vicious dog, they just accepted that I'd been a naughty child and had well and truly been taught my lesson.

If a dog is unstable enough to bite a child because it feels threatened, it should be PTS. If a human's first reaction to being startled or scared was to punch the offending person in the face, would we accept that?

If a dog is unstable enough to bite a child because it feels threatened, it should be watchfully attended by the owner at all times so that the risk never becomes reality. Humans can and do react to being startled or scared by punching someone in the face. In some circumstances it is acceptable (in your own home if you were to encounter a burglar, or in a park at night and you think you're being mugged), in other circumstances the offending person is locked up. Do we kill them? No. So why is it ok to kill a dog in the same circumstances?

[chrisjc]

just for the record, when i was mauled as a four year old, my father swiftly drove home after my operation was over, took one of his guns and went and shot the dog. I am now thirty one.

i dont think the dog should have been shot, i think my dad and the owner should be, they are the ones who didnt take full responsibility of what was theirs. the dog paid with its life for doing what dogs do protecting its own food, it hadnt been around alot of young kids and didnt know any better. i have allways felt in some way that beloved family pet paid with its life simply to make someone else falsly think the problem had been taken care of.

the thing thats really getting to me these days is parents are making parts of their homes like forts for the protection of their child, ie, gates 9in every doorway, rubber edges on every corner, plastic covers over every power point inside the house there is no stone left unturned, yet once out in the public the child can run amok at just about their own accord and harrass the neigbours cats, dogs, walk behind reversing cars, run up to strange dogs on the street, and even stroll out of the front yard with not a soul noticing for minutes at a time.

i was recently visiting a friends place for a bbq, and was walking outside to the vehicle to get some supplies, on reaching the street i noticed a child no older than three, waddling along the footpath with no one in tow. i crossed the road grabbed the kids hand and went back to my friends to grab some help. it was a further ten whole minutes before the mother of the child realised her little one had done the bolt and she only realised because one of us knocked on her front door.

potential for disaster 101, what if there was a stray dog roaming up the street at the same time , which is not unheard of at all.

people need to take more notice of all their property at all times.

[~Anne~]

In the 'old days', if a dog bit someone it was often given a bullet! Don't kid yourself that dog bites were not taken as seriously 'back then'. If a dog is unstable enough to bite a child because it feels threatened, it should be PTS. If a human's first reaction to being startled or scared was to punch the offending person in the face, would we accept that?

I think it depends on where, why and how.

We had a Lab x Bull Terrier who would rip your arms off if you went within cooee of him eating. We were dumb enough to be bitten by him before we learned to take a wide berth. The bites were never serious at all, more warnings I guess than bites, but we were only ever warned by my parents to steer clear They would never have considered him a bad dog, moreso they would think we were asking for trouble if we didn't learn and stay away.

Our favourite little Sheltie next door bit a few different kids, usually because they manhandled him which he didn't like (in my neighbourhood, all of the dogs roamed freely except for the Sheltie who was frequently tied up and yapping in his misery). Again, he was never euth'd, we were just told straight out to leave him alone.

Big Red was a cattle dog that lived across the road. He was a nasty fat dog but Bill, his owner, loved him. When Big Red escaped his yard, we all trembled and ran inside and someone would have to ring Bill to let him know he was out. No-one went near Big Red because he did quite a bit of damage to the garbo early one morning.

I am not stating anything of this to begin a debate on who was irresponsible either, just to point out that there was never any set rules to my knowledge. As children, we were taught to respect dogs as animals. Unpredictable, easy going or anything in between. I am sure if there was a severe mauling of a child, that more action may have been taken but it certainly wasn't common in my neighbourhood to euth dogs unless they were in pain and severely ill.

These days, we have become euthanasia happy. We euthanase dogs at will, as we choose. Too many dogs - euth them. Dog barks too much - euth it. Dog aggressive - euth it. Is this right or worng? It depends on context and individual circumstances with some, others are just plain wrong.

Anyway, back tot he actual topic - I have taken it on a little side path.

Edited April 21, 2010 by ~Anne~