Cracker: Flashback
424 Responses
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And do you reckon it did its wondering at your place because you have a lot of books?
You'd like to think so. However, it may in part be explained by us also being cat free, so a lot of the neighbours' cats like to try to claim our property as theirs as well. After successfully stopping the cat's shitting in the strawberry bed, I'm quite happy to have the cats around as long as they're not fighting. Dogs get on my nerves, mainly because I can never quite predict when they're going to decide to have a go, and because they usually have a good element of surprise.
On a more pleasant note, I have to say that I'm enjoying working at home today, and making myself lattes from different single origin organic fairtrade beans. So far I've had Mexican, Sumatran, and Ethiopian. Must be time for some Guatemalan, Dr Ropata?
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if the existing laws were enforced then incidents would be less likely
Part of the problem is that owners don't see their dogs as bad, and neighbours don't want to disturb the peace. I like the neighbours, but I have yet to convince them that there is anything off about their dog's behaviour. The dog may never bite anyone again, but I don't think I'll be doing anything about it until then...
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And of course the other implication is that the dog attacks that don't occur during the latest "epidemic" (and which therefore don't get any press) don't matter. I got bitten by a dog when I was 11, for little more than looking at it, and I didn't get in the paper. It bloody hurt, too.
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i myself would like to bite dogs.
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i don't understand the stress on not?
Now you mention it, neither do I.
Is there a God? Will the All Blacks win the World Cup?
Where is your cat's food?
the opinion of the my lecturer at time (Palmer Senior) was that if the existing laws (back in 02/03) were enforced then incidents would be less likely
it's easy! (he says optimistically), take all the unregistered dogs & destroy them (or at the very least desex them). Police the owners who habitually have unregistered dogs. Confiscate all recidivist wandering dogs & fine the owners. destroy the dog if it is unregistered.
As for muzzling, can't see it working. Will a stray dog stop to put its muzzle on when it escapes its section?
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Acts of Dogs
Isn't that what this blog post should've been called? You know, because if you read it backwards, it's sgoD which is really rather funny and insurancey like.
The Geekzoners are scratching their heads over a graphic in the Herald that appears to say you can receive Freeview with a wok-mounted USB WiFi dongle...
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merc,
I myself bit a dog (Cherman Shepherd) and got a notched ear for my trouble requiring several stitches, but that's the other thread.
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Thanks Damien for a post that pretty much sums up the way I've been feeling about the msm reporting on these incidents in the past week or so. "Whipping up hysteria" is a phrase that springs to mind. The Herald escalated their tone in a re-report of the lady who got bitten by the dog at the supermarket - she went from being bitten to having been "mauled" in the space of about 2 days.
I agree that introducing new laws isn't going to prevent the problem as IMHO it's far more likely to be the currently unregistered,allowed to rome free, largely uncared for section of the dog population doing most of the biting (or mauling). It's these dogs owners who are the problem as they don't give a s*&t what their dogs are up to and are unlikely to change their ways with the introduction of a couple of new or revised laws.
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Personally, I think keeping a dog as a weapon is both antisocial *and* cruel to the animal.
Maybe all agressive breeds should be neutered and we can just have nice fluffy dogs like Newfies and St. Bernards
(I wish more sites allowed photos in comments. Make them look more interesting)
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When I grew up we always had lots of farm dogs, that were sort of pets but that also had work to do. We also used to come into contact with lots of neighbouring farm dogs, and hunting dogs too, so we were taught very early on to be careful around dogs, and not to take liberties. When I moved to the city it was quite different, all dogs were pets and therefore dogs were perceived differently. It is the difference between feeling able to pat or approach a strange dog and not.
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take all the unregistered dogs & destroy them (or at the very least desex them). Police the owners who habitually have unregistered dogs. Confiscate all recidivist wandering dogs & fine the owners. destroy the dog if it is unregistered
Enforcement is the key I think. God, my dog is registered, well socialised (with humans and other dogs), lives in the house with a large fenced backyard, is taken every night to a dog offleash exercise park where she runs around with her mates for a good couple of hours.........jesus, I even have a bloody dog owners' licence. I'm not unusual - all of my dog's friends and their owners are the same as me and mine. And yet. And yet dog control persist in showing up in the car park of the dog park, looking to fine people with dogs off the leash who are going from the car to the entry to the park which is about 10-30 feet away. They've even fined people in an area of the park where it is off leash. What the bloody hell are these people doing? Why aren't they picking up all the stray bitey dogs? This really, really riles me up.
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I've never seen a dog control officer police leash or registrations in Wellington, and I've walked dogs a lot there.
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Jackie - that sounds pretty scandalous.
Why aren't they picking up all the stray bitey dogs?
Very good question. Fortunately, the Wgtn City Council animal control chief is very approachable & sympathetic to the plight of the responsible dog owner. That said:
I've never seen a dog control officer police leash or registrations in Wellington
About once every 5 years it seems, the Botanic Gardens staff complain to the council that there is a lof ot dog poo in the gardens (last time I'd noticed it myself, mostly near the Glen & Upland Rd entrances, and mostly during the weekends when visitors come).
The dog rangers then descend morning & night on the Magpie Lawn area where (mostly) responsible dog owners (illegally) run their dogs & pick up all the poo after them.
To be fair, I know of only two people pinged, lots warned, but not the people who don't pick up after their pets.
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Well obviously, Ben, you live in lovely Wellington which is a very reasonable place. I, however, live in Auckland, which is not a reasonable place, and which consists of four city councils, all with different dog laws.
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Sue,
the simple answer to all this is replace all dogs with kittens. when did you ever hear of a kitten killing someone?
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Errrrm me ? The last time I had a severe seizure it was because a neighbours act had climbed in through a window at night and taken a liking to the end of my duvet.
Speaking as someone who is chronically allergic to dogs and cats, if society could learn to do without both I'd be delighted. ;o)
I should point out that I regard some (not all) pet owners in the same way as smokers. That is to say I challenge pet owners rights to force their pets into shared public spaces.
I'm not sure how seriously I feel about this issue perhaps I should leave before I get ranty and Troll like.
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Shall we try cat rather than act...did press preview but for some reason this browser is picky about the scripts it implements properly. Though more often than not problem does lay between keyboard and chair.
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That is to say I challenge pet owners rights to force their pets into shared public spaces.
And that is quite fair enough. Hence there are (very few in Wellington) dedicated dog exercise areas & if not, then dog owners (in particular) have to be considerate to the dogless (keep them on leads, contained within our properties,and pick up the dog poo etc etc). We're our own worst enemy sometimes.
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And now we have a poster dog
Interesting & good to see that the Sth Taranaki District council plan a zero tolerance policy on unregistered dogs (compulsory desexing).
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I should point out that I regard some (not all) pet owners in the same way as smokers.
Yeah, although (as a smoker, and pet owner) there is evidence to show that pets are actually beneficial to those with them.
But I agree. As much as I'd hate to live in a world without pets - which I think would be a far poorer place - when your animal is in the world at large, it's your responsibility to ensure it doesn't f*** with anyone else's rights, whether that be the right to have your face unmolested or your shoes unsoiled.
Having said that, I've got no idea where my cat shits.
Interesting & good to see that the Sth Taranaki District council plan a zero tolerance policy on unregistered dogs
I'm sceptical about such claims. Laws put out a similar press release in Wanganui earlier this year, then allowed the owners of an unregistered dog that had severely (like, dozens and dozens of stitches) attacked a woman to keep their dog, and didn't even fine them for never having registered it!
Not long after the dog's owner (President of the Wanganui RSA) was made a founding Ambassador of Wanganui. Talk about mixed messages. Although arguably being an Ambassador of Wanganui is punishment enough...
I did a story on it for Close Up, focusing on the council's seeming unwillingness to apply the 'zero tolerance' approach to these particular owners.
http://tvnz.co.nz/view/video_popup_windows_skin/981371
I must've done something right, because the next day Laws issued a press release accusing me of 'shoddy journalism'...
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a press release accusing me of 'shoddy journalism'...
RESULT! I'd be pretty proud of that.
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But with out the mass-media beat-up we'd nevr get those When Animals Attack TV specials (remember when TV specials were actually special).
And lest we forget: the Summer of the Shark
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Aha, I always remember one of those When Animals Go Berko programmes, the narrator saying with regard to a guy who got mauled by a lion:
"However he realises he was just in the wrong place... at the wrong time."
It's a farking lion attack! What other conclusion could you arrive at? The Zebras had put out a hit on him? Given the lion's history of psychotic episodes, he should've known the restraining order wouldn't be sufficient protection?
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[deep breath, reminder to self not to rant]
Strong feelings on this one, partly because I was a postie for two years; partly because I visited a family friend in one of the less-well-off parts of Manurewa last year and had to fight my way past three very menacing dogs. He's an old man in poor health and they have had some real problems with the local dogs. Local council doesn't seem to have been able to do very much about it.
Menacing uncontrolled dogs with the power to kill as a problem though is at its worst in areas where I suspect most bloggers don't normally go.
Enforcement is a big issue. I live on the edge of Wellington's town belt and a few months before the last big panic about this there I reported two rottweillers running around an area a lot of kids play in. They were strays - no people supervising them at all. I rang the council who said unless I knew where the dogs were from they would not send anyone out.
The next dog complaint I made, about a year later and after that 'dog attack summer' - there was a much more interested response.
So I don't have a problem with the media making a big issue of this. It has already had a big impact on how councils enforce the laws.
This is one of the jobs we have the media for.
Attitude of owners defintily a huge problem, and this is independent of registration or not. A lot have an animal owner version of 'my little johnny would never do that' when little johnny is a little horror.
I was assured by one dog owner in Lincoln Street her dog attacked me because "he's been under a lot of stress" I said "I suppose he had a fucking deprived childhood as well" which resulted in a complaint to the postmaster about my language.
At the same time: dogs who attack do not necessarily have bad owners. Firstly, good pets do go bad. I often wonder if its just a city thing: the problem dogs are large energetic animals and really should not be confined to a small sections in cities.
The other thing is packs. If even a normally well-behaved dog gets in a pack all bets are off.
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I often wonder if its just a city thing: the problem dogs are large energetic animals and really should not be confined to a small sections in cities.
Nah, it's not an urban/rural thing, it doesn't get reported all thqt much but there are still an awful lot of dog attacks on sheep & cattle happening around the country.
And some dog owners... "My little tiddles would never take a dump on the footpath, she always goes behind a bush."
Yeah right, and how would you know as Tiddles is off her lead & half a mile ahead of/behind you.
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