Editor:
It’s been almost a month now that we’ve been caring for our little dog, an eight-pound Yorkie-poo named Rocky. My husband had him down at Snickett Park where he likes to play in the puddles with his ball. Out of nowhere a large black dog came running, savagely attacking Rocky. He went into a catatonic shock. My husband immediately started working on reviving him. Thankfully, Rocky came to – badly shaken and severely wounded. The large dog was not in sight nor the owner so we don’t know if the dog was running loose or if the dog was off-leash and the owner took off, which I hear is not uncommon. Rocky required surgery costing us over $1,000.
A few days after the incident (Dec. 31) my husband noticed that someone had posted a notice warning people of someone who was walking a “husky type” dog, and even though on leash, it was trying to attack other dogs. I was always of the understanding that if you were walking a dog off-leash it should be considered a “safe” dog. As I’ve heard from many people, this is definitely not true. It seems that whether on-leash or off is no guarantee of safety.
I don’t know what the solution is, but I would ask people who witness an attack or aggressive behaviour to help if they can, including identifying the dog and presumably owner, so there might be some hope of holding these people accountable. Call the SPCA and Animal Control and give them as much information as possible to at least let them know this is going on. We called them and it seems there’s nothing they can do. It was implied that if enough people take the time to report these incidents, this might make a difference.
Walking down by the ocean with Rocky has always been such a joy and now we are understandably very concerned. We will be hyper-vigilant, but even so, it’s not a guarantee. So much for a pleasant walk down by the ocean.
Marsha Andrews, Sechelt
