Dog Attack - Lyndhurst Vic

[mace]

Dog's can be unpredictable and when passing dogs that I don't know or know of their behavioual history, I personally take a wide enough berth out of leash range so they can't get to me and bite which to me is just common sense? Why pass so close that a leashed dog can make contact. IMHO the lady who got bitten could have avoided that herself

Are you for real! I'm sorry that my friend didn't have the capacity in a split instance to calcualte the angle and extension of a dogs lead, taking into consideration the length of the owners arm and elasticity of the lead.

That's what I do and have had my fair share of dogs lunge at me over the years in that type of situation. The point I am making is that you can't trust people will handle their dogs accordingly and take the initiative myself. It's too late to argue who is right or wrong if perhaps you had a child with you and half his/her face missing?

wow, where on earth do you walk that you have been lunged at multiple times while just trying to walk past on lead dogs without a dog yourself. Certainly sounds like a dangerous neighbourhood and one to be avoided at all costs.

Nice one, put all the blame on the victim, who did try and avoid the dogs :rolleyes:

She may have moved off the footpath but how far from the dog 6 inches? 4 or 5 feet away from a leashed dog and you are pretty safe. I would prefer not to take the chance and give the dog some room is all I am saying, IMHO if you get bitten by a dog on leash you are too close? I have walked out onto the side of the road to avoid small dogs on retractor leads with owners who's dog is all over the place, works for me :D

I don't care how far she moved she had every right to walk where she did why should she have to move 4 or 5 feet away, The damn owners of the dog should have had more controll over there dogs and if they damn well knew there dog bites it should have been muzzled.

What gives people with dogs the right to hog all the pathway and not move over and leave room for others to walk by. The dog owners should be the ones to move and have there dogs in a sit/stay and show some courtesy to other people. This lady that was bitten showed courtesy by moving so why couldn't the damn owners of that dog do the same.

Of course dogs owners "should" have adequate control of their dogs and they shouldn't be biting people but they don't always as confirmed by this example. I don't care what my rights are, I just don't want to nurse a dog bite and I take my own action by giving the dog room when passing.

[mace]

I see Mace is back again with valued and informative input

I hope your friend manages to find the ppl responsible! I bet my bottom dollar they will be avoiding the area where your friend was attacked for a while, they obviously know they are in big trouble. Bloody cowards

What's wrong with taking the intitative and keeping out of a strange dog's leash space to avoid these situations when this thread in it's self confirms that you can't trust people to control their dogs properly.

[mace]

I just wanted to advise and warn that my friend was attacked while walking (on her own) around her estate in Lyndhurst last night.

She was walking and an 'older couple" (she described them as having grey hair) walked towards her on the footpath with 3 dogs, on lead, one Jack Russell and 2 unidentified, medium sized breed, black and brown dogs.

As she approached, she walked onto the naturestip to go around them as 2 people and 3 dogs take up the entire footpath and as she walked around, one of the black/brown dogs lunged and bit her on the calf quite badly. She fell to the ground, calf gashed and bleeding and the guy asked her "if he got her" which was blatantly obvious. My friend started crying and said yes, and the couple turned and walked off quickly.

My friend was upset and in shock and so couldn't run after them.

So please be warned if you are in that area and see this couple. We are currently trying to establish where they live to make a report. Any information would also be welcome.

Hi Pawprints.

I am sorry to hear that your friend has been attacked by a dog.

There are a couple of issues that I think might help.

Firstly, your friend should not have had to walk around the couple and their dogs as a footpath is a public thoroughfare.

It is an offense to obstruct a public thoroughfare.

I like to keep my dogs on the opposite side of oncoming pedestrians.

16 Offences where dog attacks person or animal

(1) If a dog rushes at, attacks, bites, harasses or chases any person or animal (other than vermin), whether or not any injury is caused to the person or animal:

(a) the owner of the dog, or

(b) if the owner is not present at the time of the offence and another person who is of or above the age of 16 years is in charge of the dog at that time--that other person,

is guilty of an offence. Maximum penalty:

18 Dog that has attacked or bitten may be secured or seized

(1) If a dog attacks or bites any person or animal (except vermin) otherwise than in the circumstances referred to in section 16 (2), an authorised officer may, at any time within 72 hours after the attack or bite:

(a) secure the dog on property that the officer has reason to believe is occupied by the dog's owner, or

(b) seize the dog.

Dogs can become territorial, and one of my dogs will react if it determines that someone out walking is trying to pass between me and the dog.

My point being that the person walking the dog needs to be fully conversant with the dogs behaviour before effective control by a competent person can be enacted.

13 Responsibilities while dog in public place

(1) A dog that is in a public place must be under the effective control of some competent person by means of an adequate chain, cord or leash that is attached to the dog and that is being held by (or secured to) the person.

I hope this adds to the information you requested.

Px

The definition of "effective control" is that the dog is leashed and secured to a person, it was and therefore doesn't breach requirement of effective control.

[Guest donatella]

I see Mace is back again with valued and informative input

I hope your friend manages to find the ppl responsible! I bet my bottom dollar they will be avoiding the area where your friend was attacked for a while, they obviously know they are in big trouble. Bloody cowards

What's wrong with taking the intitative and keeping out of a strange dog's leash space to avoid these situations when this thread in it's self confirms that you can't trust people to control their dogs properly.

Situations aren't always black and white like that though. Could have been cars passing, a busy road, a narrow strip of walkway, trees lining one side.

It's easy to say you would give a wide berth to avoid passing dogs (which i'm sure most do!), however not every situation is as easy as this, and sometimes you are forced to share a narrow pathway or get hit by a car. Think outside the box for just a minute here.

[mace]

I see Mace is back again with valued and informative input

I hope your friend manages to find the ppl responsible! I bet my bottom dollar they will be avoiding the area where your friend was attacked for a while, they obviously know they are in big trouble. Bloody cowards

What's wrong with taking the intitative and keeping out of a strange dog's leash space to avoid these situations when this thread in it's self confirms that you can't trust people to control their dogs properly.

Situations aren't always black and white like that though. Could have been cars passing, a busy road, a narrow strip of walkway, trees lining one side.

It's easy to say you would give a wide berth to avoid passing dogs (which i'm sure most do!), however not every situation is as easy as this, and sometimes you are forced to share a narrow pathway or get hit by a car. Think outside the box for just a minute here.

Is that what happened in this case, were they forced to share a narrow pathway or not?

[german_shep_fan]

I see Mace is back again with valued and informative input

I hope your friend manages to find the ppl responsible! I bet my bottom dollar they will be avoiding the area where your friend was attacked for a while, they obviously know they are in big trouble. Bloody cowards

What's wrong with taking the intitative and keeping out of a strange dog's leash space to avoid these situations when this thread in it's self confirms that you can't trust people to control their dogs properly.

There is nothing wrong with that at all, its the way you are wording you posts, esp the first few. I think a little compassion can go a long way, esp when it was not the woman's fault, you shouldn't have to go out on the road to avoid dogs, owners should have them under control (of course they don't always but in a perfect world...) Like Donatella said most ppl do move out of the way of passing dogs, but things are not always as black and white as you seem to think.

[❤LovesPoodles❤]

I'm sorry about your friend.

I can't believe the owners just left her after she fell to the ground and said she was bitten : I just really can't believe that people can do that.

I hope they are found and your friend is ok after this.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[experiencedfun]

What a low act to walk away from an injured person no matter what the cause.

Mace have you ever thought that your obvious fear of dogs has been the cause of them lunging at you.

[Tralee]

13 Responsibilities while dog in public place

(1) A dog that is in a public place must be under the effective control of some competent person by means of an adequate chain, cord or leash that is attached to the dog and that is being held by (or secured to) the person.

Px

The definition of "effective control" is that the dog is leashed and secured to a person, it was and therefore doesn't breach requirement of effective control.

I know what the law states, and it is also a matter of how you read the law.

That is why they have lawyers and learned judges.

You cannot interpret the law as: " on a leash but running around as if not on a leash"

The phrase: "effective control of some competent person by means of an adequate ... leash" is to be understood that the leash provides control of the dog and is not just an adornment or piece of bling.

However, while most dog people would have walked past the dog defensively, a child or disabled or invalid person may not.

You do not have a law that supports the view that the injured person was at fault and therefore committed an offense.

That kind of argument is just rubbish.

Px

Edited January 18, 2012 by Tralee

[mace]

13 Responsibilities while dog in public place

(1) A dog that is in a public place must be under the effective control of some competent person by means of an adequate chain, cord or leash that is attached to the dog and that is being held by (or secured to) the person.

Px

The definition of "effective control" is that the dog is leashed and secured to a person, it was and therefore doesn't breach requirement of effective control.

I know what the law states, and it is also a matter of how you read the law.

That is why they have lawyers and learned judges.

You cannot interpret the law as: " on a leash but running around as if not on a leash"

The phrase: "effective control of some competent person by means of an adequate ... leash" is to be understood that the leash provides control of the dog and is not just an adornment or piece of bling.

However, while most dog people would have walked past the dog defensively, a child or disabled or invalid person may not.

You do not have a law that supports the view that the injured person was at fault and therefore committed an offense.

That kind of argument is just rubbish.

Px

The facts of the incident are that the dog was leashed and to be bitten by a leashed dog the person bitten was within leash range of the dog whether it was 2 inches or 3 feet from the dog is arguable. The dog owner could present an array of defences thruth or not and claim provoctaion, all could be possible. The lady tripped into the dog whilst passing, the lady accidently hit the dog in the face with her bag, the lady trod on the dog's foot, the lady bumped shoulders with the dog's owner etc etc, in this case especially there is two against one, a couple with the dogs and a lady on her own and if the dog owners present a good story under provocation, they won't be convicted of any wrong doing is what I am saying.

Unlike attacks resulting from dogs roaming at large and not under effective control where the owner is 100% in the wrong and accountable, leashed dogs present a different set of circumstances with defences available. Leashed dog incidents are not clear cut cases if a dog bites, the owner is in trouble.

[JulesP]

I hope your friend is ok. When Brock and I got attacked the owners left me laying on the nature strip too. That is one of the things that has really stayed with me. Watching them walk off whilst I was splatted on the ground. Very hurtful.

People that think they can take up the whole path/track are my current pet hates. Single file morons.

[k9angel]

The dog owners should have moved off the path/shortened the leash and given the walker enough room to remain - especially since it seems like this dog has done something similar before? This is what I do with my dogs and they have never bitten anyone. I often put them in a sit and get them to focus on me - people appreciate this and often thank me.

Same. If I am walking along the path and people are approaching, I move to the side of the path so they can pass. My dogs have never bitten anyone either but it's just something I have always done.

I feel really sorry for this lady.

[mace]

I hope your friend is ok. When Brock and I got attacked the owners left me laying on the nature strip too. That is one of the things that has really stayed with me. Watching them walk off whilst I was splatted on the ground. Very hurtful.

People that think they can take up the whole path/track are my current pet hates. Single file morons.

People can do the bolt in panic when faced with a situation that their dog has just bitten someone, it doesn't mean an aggressive and mismanaged dog doesn't mean the world to the owner with the thought of their dog potentially being euthansed over the incident, their instinct is to shoot through and avoid apprehension. Then there are others with a cool head who do provide assistance with deep apology offer to pay medical expenses calmly providing a false name and contact details to the injured party and disappear that way?

Some people are only concerned about an incident not effecting them directly and although they know it was wrong to leave an injured person laying on the nature strip, they live with it on the pride of saving themselves and their dog.

[RubyStar]

Congrats mace on getting the rise out of people you were hoping for. Go and crawl back into your hole :rolleyes:

Having being bitten myself on the calf by a random walking dog in my own neighbourhood when I was simply walking home, I can certainly sympathise with the OP's friend. Hope she doesn't have any lasting scars, physical and emotional - a dog bite can really shatter your confidence to simply walk down the street. I hope the owner's get found.

Edited January 19, 2012 by RubyStar

[Are You Serious Jo]

I hope your friend is ok. When Brock and I got attacked the owners left me laying on the nature strip too. That is one of the things that has really stayed with me. Watching them walk off whilst I was splatted on the ground. Very hurtful.

People that think they can take up the whole path/track are my current pet hates. Single file morons.

People can do the bolt in panic when faced with a situation that their dog has just bitten someone, it doesn't mean an aggressive and mismanaged dog doesn't mean the world to the owner with the thought of their dog potentially being euthansed over the incident, their instinct is to shoot through and avoid apprehension. Then there are others with a cool head who do provide assistance with deep apology offer to pay medical expenses calmly providing a false name and contact details to the injured party and disappear that way?

Some people are only concerned about an incident not effecting them directly and although they know it was wrong to leave an injured person laying on the nature strip, they live with it on the pride of saving themselves and their dog.

Their dog should be PTS, morons like that shouldn't even own a dog. Not only did they flee and leave an injured person but the injury was their fault which makes it even worse!

[Aetherglow]

I don't buy the argument that it's reasonable for someone to get out of full leash range on a footpath. In many cases five feet away from the dog would require walking out onto the road if the dog walker isn't making room, and that's often going to be far more dangerous.

[mace]

Congrats mace on getting the rise out of people you were hoping for. Go and crawl back into your hole :rolleyes:

Having never owned a human aggressive dog before I could be jumping the gun a bit and probably open to flaming here, but if I had a dog that was human aggressive and could just bite random passers-by unprovoked, they wouldn't be my dog for much longer... no way would I want that risk, and no way should I be putting anyone else at risk! Human aggressive to me is a whole new ball game, not one I'd ever wish to play. Having being bitten myself on the calf by a random walking dog in my own neighbourhood when I was simply walking home, I can certainly sympathise with the OP's friend. Hope she doesn't have any lasting scars, physical and emotional - a dog bite can really shatter your confidence to simply walk down the street. I hope the owner's get found.

So I need to crawl into a hole for providing a solution to avoid getting bitten by a leashed dog

[Aetherglow]

I suspect it's more a comment on how you come across. Also, your solution is not practical or reasonable.

[mace]

I don't buy the argument that it's reasonable for someone to get out of full leash range on a footpath. In many cases five feet away from the dog would require walking out onto the road if the dog walker isn't making room, and that's often going to be far more dangerous.

How can you not buy the argument when the thread is about someone getting bitten within leash range of a dog? The only reasoning is whether to run the risk of getting bitten or avoiding the possiblity as best you can?

[Ben and Jerry]

So I need to crawl into a hole for providing a solution to avoid getting bitten by a leashed dog

How is trying to blame the victim a solution. It has already been said that the victim tried to avoid the dogs by going onto the naturestrip. If what I read from you is correct it would be more ideal to walk on the road and possibly cause a car accident which could result in greater injuries or even the lose of a life?

As others have already said the owners should be found and charged and their dog PTS.