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My clothing was torn from my body, The fangs of the dogs sank so deeply into my flesh that they punctured right through to the bone. I was covered in blood. The wounds of course turned septic and months later suppurating puss was still oozing from my shoulder. I had to replace everything I was wearing except my shoes. However in saying that I had been “mauled” I intended to be descriptive rather than emotive. I unreservedly withdraw the word “mauled” and I would be delighted to use in the future any more appropriate term Monica Cookson, East and Bays Courier May 21 can suggest.
I was unaware that the dog lobby offers post-traumatic stress counselling to victims of vicious dog attacks and I think we should all be grateful to them for taking this responsible attitude.
The contact
details deserve to be more widely known. Put another way more than 7000 people suffer a serious dog injury every year. I can of course accept that victims are responsible for being attacked rather than the dogs involved, as M Lewis suggests, East and Bays Courier May 21, but I would not go so far as to suggest that the victims ought to be put down. There are just too many of them. The problem for victims is that when there are currently no safe dog-free places for them to exercise in they provoke an attack every time they step outside their homes. Dog-free beaches would be a wonderful community asset. In Sydney all the beaches are dog free at all times. Auckland dogs could happily swim in our swimming pools. Being attacked by dog owners is now unfortunately much too frequent an occurrence around our city. Dogs seem to bring out the worst in people. Irrational anger with no stop button seems to be a risk when people who cannot relate to other people opt for substitute relationships.
Tony Watkins Karaka Bay
Published in the East and Bays Courier 28 May 2008 |
I apologise.
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