Dog Run Over By Cyclist in Centennial Park -Student Left With Possible $40.000 Bill for Risky Surgery For Dog

[Deeds]

https://www.9news.com.au/national/dog-run-over-cyclist-sydney-centennial-park/a36f16bd-a9ee-48f2-9fbf-7a5c4dd3d371

[Loving my Oldies]

Many years ago, my Nammu (small male Maltese) was run over by a cyclist, both wheels.  He was trotting along the very left side edge of the path (off leash dog park) and the cyclist would have had to veer over to the side to run him over.  She called out as she rode off, "I didn't know where he was going."         I was so shocked, because I am sure it was deliberate.   The cyclists at this particular park (Hawthorn Parade Leichhardt) were known to be extremely aggressive - I kid you not.  I rushed him off to the vet, but he was fine with only a little graze under his chin.  As he died of cancer at 8 and a half, I have wondered over the years whether he sustained some internal damage which caused the cancer.   

 

I feel so sorry for the owners of the little dog.  So heartbreaking and a constant worry.   

 

[tdierikx]

When the article said that the dog had damage to the spine and aortic valve, I had to look up where the aortic valve was in dachshunds... who knew that the aorta ran dorsally?

 

It's not clear in the article whether the dachshund was on a lead at the time of the accident, but it seems maybe not?

 

LMO, I know the off-leash park you mentioned, and it's a stupid setup with the cycle path running right through the middle of it... you get lots of joggers and cyclists using it too. Why on earth did they run it right through the middle of the dog park, rather than off to one side and putting some sort of barrier to protect the dogs and the cyclists?

 

T.

[persephone]

What a terrible accident  Poor pup .

[Loving my Oldies]

7 hours ago, tdierikx said:

 

 

LMO, I know the off-leash park you mentioned, and it's a stupid setup with the cycle path running right through the middle of it...

I used to live in Dulwich Hill and frequented that park for years.  Most of the time, I loved it, but with multiple little dogs, I used to have my eyes swivelling everywhere LOL.  I didn't use the pathway much preferring to walk closer to the canal mainly because of the aggressive attitude of the cyclists.  They would literally speed along, ringing their bells (sometimes) and yelling at people to get out of their way. 

 

Gosh that was another life time --- I've lived where I am now for nearly 20 years.  Hard to comprehend.

[tdierikx]

Another stupid design fault with the park was that the canal was open to access by the dogs... lost count of how many we fished out when they couldn't get up the sides themselves... *sigh*

 

The cafe was awesome though... good food and great coffee... *grin*

 

I used to take Trouble, Zeddy, and Connor down there regularly and they loved it. Their recall was excellent, and I never let them just run up to a strange dog willy-nilly. They preferred to hang around the cafe tables and give people the "my mum doesn't feed me" look until someone would give them a tidbit. Poor Connor being an intact male would occasionally be challenged by other intact male dogs, but he was such a sooky boy and never rose to the challenge, he would wait for me to make the other dog move on - not bad for a 47kg Rotti...

 

T.

[Mairead]

Dog parks seemed to be a difficult concept for councils when they first came in - unfenced area next to busy roads or a fence not very high or with gaps at the bottom, or both, fenced area but hardly bigger than a decent sized backyard and so on. I was willing to travel for the decent ones. 

I know that park too. I have a photo of one of my dogs resting on the higher railway line side near the cafe. One front paw folded under, head raised in the "kneel in my presence, peasant!" sighthound pose.

[Loving my Oldies]

6 hours ago, tdierikx said:

The cafe was awesome though... good food and great coffee... *grin*

I was part of a dog training club that used the Council building there and when we were told the front area was going to become a cafe, I couldn't believe it.  I have an amazing business sense and gave them three months.          A couple of decades plus later  . . . . .  They were very successful and became known far and wide.   

 

I did a google.  The cafe is called Cafe Bones - I had forgotten that.  

 

Not Cafe Bones - just a few yards away - but one of my all time favourite photos from my time living in the inner west.  Clockwise from far left:  Tirra, Jeune, Danny, Tamar.  Long gone to god, but I still miss them all   .  So many stories.  

 

 

Edited October 4 by Loving my Oldies

[Rebanne]

The pup wasn't on lead. So owners fault. They said it was an accident in the article but, to me, they were trying to make out it was the cyclist's fault and wouldn't mind some money to help pay the vet bill. If the cyclist had crashed from the accident would the dog owners pay something towards the bike being repaired or lost wages if he couldn't work?

[Mairead]

From the article: "Unfenced dog park" with cycle lines [sic] next to it . From park guidelines if I was looking at the most up to date map: Dogs must be on leash on roads, shared pathways and cycleways.

But they have insurance, or Mummy and Daddy do.

That she didn't say it was the cyclist's fault or get details says to me that she was at fault and there might have been witnesses who would say so. Dachshund: Characteristics: "courageous to the point of rashness".

Do they still have paths for horses there too? Could have been a different outcome if the dog ran up to a horse.

I'm thinking the clickbait in this story is the potential cost of the surgery. 

Edited October 4 by Mairead

[tdierikx]

11 hours ago, Mairead said:

Do they still have paths for horses there too? Could have been a different outcome if the dog ran up to a horse.

 

Yes, they still have horse riding paths... and every now and then there is a news story about offlead dogs harassing the horses...

 

The thing about unfenced dog parks is that dog owners shouldn't wait until they are right at the boundary before leashing their dogs to leave... too much chance of a dog straying beyond the boundary and being where it shouldn't.

 

T.