International Law

It's a dog's life

By John Hirst

Yesteday afternoon I watched a very moving film on ITV called After Thomas about a family with an autistic boy who came out of his world to a large extent when they bought him a Golden Retriever puppy which he named Thomas after Thomas The Tank Engine. It reminded me of Flash the Golden Retriever my foster parents had when I was young. In the film the young boy on one occasion kicked the dog, and it brought back the memory of my foster mother telling me that it was the first thing I did to Flash.

I am still concerned about the troubles over Rocky. Yesterday, there was a news report about how many dogs had been placed in rescue centres over the Christmas holiday period, and how some TV personality was trying to raise public awareness about the issue. He made a statement that there are no bad dogs only bad owners. I don't agree with this statement because it denies that dogs have a character of their own. True, generally speaking, a dog's behaviour reflects training and upbringing. But, what about damaged goods? In the same way that a person's behaviour in later life is shaped by a bad early start, so it can be with a dog which has come from a rescue centre. Some of Rocky's character has already formed and it is a pity that I did not get him earlier enough to improve his character. Still, I don't consider his problems uncontrollable. None of us are perfect, and the same applies to dogs. I love and accept Rocky warts and all. He is manageable, by no stretch of the imagination would I say he comes under the Dangerous Dogs Act.

In my view, some of the park rangers should be on leads and not let loose on the general public.

Full post as published by prisonlawinsideout on January 07, 2008 (boomark / email).