Dear Editor:
I am writing this letter in the hopes that it will save other people the pain of losing something dear to them, in this case a pet dog.
My daughter was walking her small dog in our neighbourhood when it was attacked and killed by another dog from the same neighbourhood. It was apparent that the attacking dog was not on a leash or rope or had broken free from it and was able to cross its owners front lawn and reach the sidewalk where it mauled my daughters’ dog. The injuries were fatal and her dog died.
This happened about six weeks ago and I am still angry as I believe it could have easily been avoided. It is not the first time this aggressive dog has tried to attack other dogs in the same neighbourhood. There has been two other cases where someone was walking their dogs and had to actually pick up their pets in order to stop the attack.
In these two cases the suspect dog was not even on its owner’s property but was down the street from where it should have been. Other residents of my neighbourhood have also voiced concerns about walking past the property where my daughters’ dog was mauled and killed.
These incidents happened before the tragedy my daughters experienced so there was a history of this aggressive dog’s behaviour.
I am angry that the owner didn’t make more appropriate steps to ensure their dog was not a threat to others walking by or in the near neighbourhood. I will say that the vet bill and cremation of my daughters’ dog was paid for by the other dog owner, but it was obviously too little too late.
I have given some time to cool down and reflect on what had happened and just want pet owners to ensure that their pets are properly looked after and are restrained from being able to cause harm or death to others.
Bill Sizer,
Mount Forest