Posted on 06/04/2010 4:38:47 AM PDT by kanawa
Owner Allen Delaney didn’t have to just hear it. He had to watch his Bichon Frise get suddenly attacked by a golden retriever, one of four dogs being walked, unleashed, by another man on Old Town Hall Houses property, where Delaney lives.
Delaney, a retired Darien police officer, also has bite marks on his hand. He is not entirely sure if the bites are from the other dog or his own, as he jumped in the middle of the fight to save his smaller dog. He also said that the other dog owner attempted to break up the fight as well.
Remy was left in serious condition. He is currently being treated in Norwalk. The attack happened fast, and could have been prevented by a town leash ordinance, Delaney said.
“I absolutely think the town needs a law,” he told The Darien Times Wednesday. Delaney said he worked hard to change rules to allow Old Town Hall residents to have small dogs. But he sees dogs unleashed around the neighboring areas all the time.
Delaney said Remy is expected to make a full recovery in 10 to 14 days.
“The town needs a leash law and they need to be strictly enforced,” his neighbor, Carole Tyler, wrote in a letter to The Darien Times this week, after hearing the incident.
(Excerpt) Read more at acorn-online.com ...
We have a leash law, but people still walk their dogs off leash. Police don’t have time or inclination to enforce it.
“his Bichon Frise get suddenly attacked by a golden retriever”
I’ve had many goldens and find it hard to believe that one would “attack”. I’ve yet to encounter an aggressive golden.
Generally goldens are very friendly dogs, but I have had two that could be very aggressive when they sensed something about a person they didn't like. Never to the point of attacking, just the low growl and baring of teeth.
Both would stop immediately on command though.
Another dog, it's hard to tell. My current golden ignores dogs that he knows belong in the neighborhood, but goes nuts when stray dogs roam through “his domain”.
I've yet to encounter a human aggressive 'pit bull', yet they exist.
I heard on the radio one day while driving of a serious attack on a child by a "dog".
She was being taken by air ambulance to a hospital.
They didn't name the breed, it was later as I looked into it that I discovered...
Child attacked by Golden Retriever
From here this...
"....study in the United States, it was found that the top biters by breed are German Shepherds, Rottweillers, Cocker Spaniels, and Golden Retrievers. While it may be shocking for some to see the most common pet, a Golden Retriever, in the top four, it’s a reality, said Strooband.
A 2002 report by the Canadian Hospitals Injury Reporting and Prevention Program, found that German Shepherds, Cocker Spaniels, Rottweillers and Golden Retrievers had the highest prevalence of reported dog bites."
I wonder if the GSD # includes those arising from their use in law enforcement...
Are those numbers corrected for the relative breed populations?
My wife was attacked by a golden while on a bike ride. The first time we took the route she and I were riding separate bikes and she was able to outride it. The second time we were riding tandem. She was on the back and it got her ankle.
I stopped at the top of the next hill and walked back to talk to the owner. The dog never bothered me while in the yard. Once he saw my wife, he tore after her again.
We’ve never taken that route since.
I would guess not
and you point out the difficulty in making generalizations about any breed
without knowing the denominator or total number of the breed.
The proper approach, in my opinion, is to recognize that all dogs are potentially dangerous,
and apply responsible dog ownership principles regardless of breed.
I know as a kid that GSD's scared the crap out of me, especially when I entered their turf. Lately I've encountered a few GSD and found them to be reasonably friendly when properly approached (and introduced by their owners). They aren't the same as retrievers though.
My Lab is quite friendly, but when approached by a gaggle of young kids, wants to get away. If "cornered" by same and unsupervised, she might not be so nice. (some kids, even in the presence of parents, were throwing rocks at my dog in a public place. I had to verbally straighten out the kids and let them know they should stay away from the dog for their own safety - The pari's still said nothing but I gave them dirty looks too - they were all BIG city (a really BIG US city) folks out in the mountains).
Happy Labs, knocking people down to lick them if they show fear of the breed. LOL
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