Dog attack in Dulwich Park this afternoon

[the-e-dealer]

unpleasantly involving passers by. Lovely real sense of community there.

[first mate]

I think this is a difficult one as it is about a balance of freedoms.

People who are severely dog-phobic will almost certainly encounter dogs in the park, but they might also encounter them on the streets too. It is not reasonable to ban dogs from parks and streets since this would impinge on the freedom of the dog owner and affect the wellbeing of the dogs. However, I think it is reasonable to have clearly marked areas of the park where dogs are kept on a lead and it should be mandatory to keep dogs on a lead on public streets etc..

Is it unreasonable to suggest a severely dog phobic person should therefore avoid areas of the park where dogs are allowed to free run offlead?

I think overall the only realistic option for the severely dog phobic person is to seek treatment for their phobia and perhaps avoid areas where it is known dogs free run. I cannot see a practical alternative.

[sweet megan]

If someone is dog phobic they have a choice-get treatment -it is available or avoid areas were there are dogs. It's the same with any phobia ( spiders, birds, flying etc etc....)-which is defined as an irrational fear to a stimulus-either confront it or avoid.