There’s a disturbing situation happening in once peaceful neighborhoods on a global level. Dogs are being allowed to run loose by irresponsible owners who either don’t know or don’t care how much damage their pet can do when their pet attacks without provocation.
I won’t go in depth in this case but you’re welcome to read the entire nightmare this Worchester family is still suffering through after two dogs who weren’t on a lead entered the property and killed the beloved family cat. A video shows the moment a dog owner falls to his knees and grovels after his two dogs ripped a cat belonging to Sharon Boalch and her daughter Shakira Jeffries apart in front of their eyes.
CAUTION: The video is hard to watch so please use discretion if you upset easily.
Stories like this one are all over the news these days. A Greenville, South Carolina couple was attacked and their dog killed back in March. All the family wanted to do was to spend time outdoors with their pet like good pet parents do.
The dog owners who allow their dogs to, for lack of a better term, run amock, aren’t good pet parents and it’s their dogs who pay the ultimate price with their lives. The two dogs who attacked the couple were ordered euthanized by Greenville officials. You can read more of their story here.
I do a lot of snooping on Facebook where I see dogs wandering and basically wreaking havoc wherever they go because they don’t have an owner with them to ensure they mind their manners. Dog owners are also being more lenient and allowing their dogs to walk without a leash or lead. It only takes a few seconds for circumstances to change and a dog to go from calm to attack mode.
I’ve read a lot of comments this year in the different groups I follow where people are afraid to walk in their own neighborhood, with or without a pet, because they’re afraid of being attacked.
There may not be a good answer to correcting this behavior. Dogs aren’t the ones who need to change because they’re just doing what dogs do. The increase in dog attacks is a dog owner issue because for some people you just can’t fix stupid and leash laws are rarely enforced.
Are any of you afraid to walk a dog because of the risk of attack? What precautions are you taking to protect yourself and your pet? Please feel free to comment on any of this.
