Dangerous dog on Peckham Rye

[emilydrab]

I've got my little Woody back at home with me now. He looks a real sight and is feeling really sorry for himself with his leg in plaster and huge sewn up bites marks on his back and side. But he is already hobbling along to go the toilet in the garden. I'm having to give him water through a children's medicine dispencer as he won't drink out of his bowl - the plastic collar he's wearing to stop him pulling out his stitches or messing with his leg doesn't help as he can't really get his nose in the bowl - being a long nosed boy he often drinks out of a cup but he won't even do that. Poor little boy - and he hates being locked up in his crate which I have to do unless I'm sitting right by him. Still sleep is the thing that's going to heal him the most - sleep and inactivity.

The Safer Neighbourhood police officer are dealing with this and I'll let you know when I hear more.

[Mscrawthew]

Really good to hear Woody is back at home and improving all the time. These collars are a lot better than the plastic collar`s http://www.bustercollars.com/ a lot more practical as well.

[puzzled]

good to hear that woody is home and recovering. they are amazingly resilient little creatures. he is well known to lots of dog walkers on peckham rye and we look forward to seeing him again.

note to stevet.... my, you are sensitive and waspish soul aren't you? I merely pointed out that I have never seen a pitbull round here. I then said, to allay the fears of people, that most of the dogs in this park appear to be jack russells, who are charming little dogs and no threat to anyone. please don't feel compelled to come back at me yet again. it is becoming rather tiring.

[emilydrab]

Thanks for The collar tip xx

[SteveT]

Beg your pardon Puzzled I did not intend to be waspish.

[first mate]

emilydrab,

Here's to Woody, brave resilient boy.

[SarahLovesPeckham]

Hello, I'm really sorry to hear about your awful experience and I can sypathise. I don't know where Monty's owner lives but I can tell you that just over 2 years ago my dog Archie who's an Irish Terrier, was also attacked by Monty when Archie was a puppy. It was his first ever walk on Peckham Rye - I'd taken him with my 2 boys then aged 4 and 7. Archie was about 13 weeks old and we were in the middle of the main field just in front of what's now the new boys school. Monty came running over and pinned Archie to the floor. Archie was screaming in terror but Monty would not stop. I think at one point he did go away but then came back again. I was shouting at his owner (white, long grey hair in ponytail, in his 50s, drives battered Fiesta type car) to get Monty off. Another dog (a staff) then joined in. Archie came away unscathed (although to this day if he meets a dog looking vaguely like Monty he's inclined to go into a panic barking, hackles-up frenzy), but the other thing that worried me was that my oldest son Alex (then 7) actually tried to pull Monty off. Monty's owner attempted to call him away but Monty ignored him and his owner didn't physically come over and intervene. He shouted from the path that I was making it worse by being hysterical. The staff owner also did nothing to help. I've since seen Monty plenty of times in the park (usually around 11am). I also heard that Monty actually bit his owner. Luckily neither Archie or I let this experience put us off walking in Peckham Rye. I've long walked dogs there and it's by far my favourite park!

[first mate]

SarahlovesPeckham,

It is a testament to your dog's extremely good breeding and solid temperament that he came away from that experience without developing serious issues around other dogs- Irish Terriers can be pretty feisty. Alas, your experience is yet another piece of evidence that indicates that Monty is with an owner that does not understand his breed or how to control him. Monty needs some serious training and then to be rehomed to a highly experienced owner. If the dog has bitten his current owner (I have also heard this and that it was bad bite) that might explain his reluctance to intervene in his dog's misbehaviour. It also makes his complete lack of control of his dog absolutely unforgiveable.

I now recall meeting a young man with dark hair about three years ago, he had a young dog, very like Monty in tow. It was on Peckham Rye and the guy told me the dog was an American Bulldog cross and that he had a paid ?1000 for it. I wonder if this was the son of the grey haired guy and if it was the same dog?

Sarah I would urge you to PM Woody's owner so that she can forward this information to the SNT.

[pithea]

What are the local councillors doing about these attack dogs being completely free to roam whilst older women, such as myself, and other vulnerable creatures would be prosecuted if we were so much as to carry a pepper spray in order to defend ourselves? One interpretation of these stupid (lack of) laws leads to the conclusion that the powers-that-be legislate for a society that supports the rights of the bully to reign supreme over the weak.

[bonniebird]

I carry a small can of hairspray and a rape alarm in my park bag when I walk my dogs, most women use hairspray, don't they? ;-)

[jb1000]

I have found aggressive dogs to be so much of a problem in Peckham Rye I now drive over to Dulwich Park with my young son despite living less than 10 minutes walk from the park. Yes, there are some problems in Dulwich Park, too, but they're nowhere near as bad.

As the owners of these dogs won't take any notice of a law about keeping dogs on leads, I think that a complete ban on dogs on the Rye is the only solution. Perhaps dogs should be walked on the Common where it's much more open and people can see dogs coming.

The vast majority of people who use the park aren't dog owners, and of the dog owners it is a small majority that keep aggressive breeds and let them out of control, however, the park is for everyone.

[cate]

jb100, what kind of aggression are you experiencing with dogs in Peckham Rye. What do you mean by 'owners of these dogs won't take any notice of a law about keeping dogs on leads'? Which dogs? Which laws? If you have experienced agression then you should report it.

You also said it is a small majority that keep aggressive breeds, do you mean a small minority?

[bonniebird]

jb1000 A complete ban on dogs! Why should the good responsible dog owners and their dogs be punished??!! Are you nuts (td) and I beg to differ the vast majority of people who use the park especially at this time of year ARE dog owners! I am there everyday come rain or shine. Who are these dogs you speak of? You say yourself that its a small majority who keep aggresive breeds and don't keep them under control and the park is for eveyone, that includes ME and my 2 very well behaved dogs, therefore, please do not tar us all with the same brush and start all this rubbish about a complete ban on dogs! How would you like it if they did that at Dulwich park? Where would you go then?

Part of the solution could be dog licenses, the money from them could employ dog wardens, park rangers and dog trainers and everyone should have to do the Kennel Club Good Citizen scheme and attend dog training classes. If you are a true dog lover and want a dog bad enough, you would comply with all that.

A few years ago, a small group of us spent a lot of our own spare time collecting signatures for a petition against keeping dogs on leads in Southwark parks, we don't need all that again thank you very much!

[Mscrawthew]

Yes, the park is for everyone, including 99.9% of the responsible dog walkers who use it.

[davidh]

jb1000 is off his-her trolley. as has been stated, the vast majority of people using this park are dog owners. how dare this individual seek to ban all dogs to satisfy some peculiar prejudice. I suspect jb1000 may be a wind-up merchant.

[cate]

jb is a he accrding to previous posting history and probably doesn't like any dogs.

[bonniebird]

cate Wrote:

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> jb is a he accrding to previous posting history

> and probably doesn't like any dogs.

oops....... I read it that jb1000 has a dog, read it again and was wrong I guess! Well, jb1000 has to get over it, there's lots of people that don't like lots of things, but you know what, we all have to rub along together, dogs are a very big part of lots of peoples lives and they have to be excersised or they will go nuts!

[thexwinglessxbird]

Oh please, jb1000 is not a wind-up merchant. One post & everybody decides to spit their dummies out. Honestly. The way I see it, jb1000 is merely expression their own opinion.

If there's anything I like & appreciate about this forum is how you all broaden my views with your different perspectives - How you can all see many sides to a situation. I am only assuming that jb1000 did not mean to offend the many responsible dog owners, but was thinking of those who are not. So if irresponsible owners will not follow the law, they should have their space taken away from them.

[Don't hurt me.]

[LegalEagle-ish]

So by the same analogy, if irresponsible motorists use their mobile phones while driving and endanger life, we ban cars from our roads?

[ruffers]

Or, by the same analogy, if some people use guns to kill people we should ban them too! Oh.

[bonniebird]

thexwinglessxbird Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> Oh please, jb1000 is not a wind-up merchant. One

> post & everybody decides to spit their dummies

> out. Honestly. The way I see it, jb1000 is merely

> expression their own opinion.

>

> If there's anything I like & appreciate about this

> forum is how you all broaden my views with your

> different perspectives - How you can all see many

> sides to a situation. I am only assuming that

> jb1000 did not mean to offend the many responsible

> dog owners, but was thinking of those who are not.

> So if irresponsible owners will not follow the

> law, they should have their space taken away from

> them.

>

>

Irresponsible owners yes, but not responsible ones and the way jb has worded it is a ban on all dogs and I am offended.

[first mate]

JB1000, I am concerned by what you have written. When you say "aggressive" dogs, does this refer to incidents where you have witnessed or been on the receiving end of a dog attack on Peckham Rye in the last year, or is it a descriptive phrase applied to all bull breeds, in that you fear them because of the bad reputation they now have as a group?

If it is the former it would be helpful to give a description of the events/s, the dog and owner involved, when it happened and who if anyone witnessed it.

As has already been mentioned dog walkers are amongst, if not the most, prevalent all year round users of the park. We all tend to know of each other and each others dogs, so we have a good idea of what goes on.

[LegalEagle-ish]

ruffers Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> Or, by the same analogy, if some people use guns

> to kill people we should ban them too! Oh.

Nice try, but guns sole function is to cause damage to people, animals or things. With dogs and cars this is just a byproduct of their misuse. So not analogous, sorry!

[Huggers]

JB's comment sounds more like Burgess Park.!

The Woody incident shows just how communicative this forum is on anything grave happening. I think we would have a forum full of reported specific incidents if they were happening.

After six years of daily walking on Peckham Rye with dog,and ten of walking with children,cycling with children, footballing with children,adventure parking with children- I have to say that JB's experience is not my experience.

I suppose it depends what time you go. But I go in the morning with the dog, in the afternoons, weekends with the kids.

Once at 3pm in the afternoon I saw a group of boys with several staffies sitting on a park bench one summer. But the dogs were on leads and nothing happened.

[falcao]

Could have been worse...You could have seen a group of boys with several stiffies sitting on a park bench.