A boy had to have plastic surgery after he was attacked by a dog while delivering flyers.Oh noes! Dangerous dogs! Someone get a muzzle on Kit Malthouse, quick!
Oh. Wait.
Daniel Smith, six, was bitten by a black and white dog while pushing the leaflet through a letterbox in New Town, Colchester.Ah. Well, that puts quite a different complexion on things, doesn't it?
His nail was ripped off in the attack and the bite broke his finger.
Not to the boy's mother, who was using her son as child labour to advertise her business, and is now seeking to blame everyone else, of course:
Mrs Smith, of Harsnett Road, Colchester, said: “It was a horrendous 24 hours in the hospital.”To apologise for the unwanted junk mail and the blood on her carpet? Oh, no...
The hairdresser and teaching assistant, who had taken Daniel along with her to help deliver leaflets to advertise her business, said she approached the dog’s owner in the days after the incident.
She said: “I felt any owner would want to know if their dog had attacked a small child, but she did not apologise or ask how my son was.”Why, exactly, should she apologise? Her dog didn't do anything wrong - you did! You decided to litter this woman's hallway with unwanted junk mail!
Any injury to your kid as a result is entirely your own fault.
“My son is left traumatised and in a lot of pain, not to mention that the new year is hindered by various trips back to Chelmsford for check-ups and for his dressings to be changed.”Well, hardly surprising. The dog was on its own property, property on which your son trespassed. The dangerous dogs law doesn't cover it.
She said she had reported the attack to police, but had so far not heard anything.
But do I smell compensation in the mention of 'trauma'?
This is a view shared by most commenters to the article too. But, as the title says, there's always one:
Ahhh, the first cuckoo of spring, with its cry of 'Compensation, compensation...'. And it comes as no surprise to see that the person who sees this woman as the victim is himself a bloody proxy junk mail deliverer!Mrs Smith added: “Is this really a society where a small child can be bitten by a dog and nothing be done about it?”In this instance? Yes. Teach your son not to put his hands on other people's property and all will be well...
“He didn’t antagonise it – he just put the flyer through.What you think is irrelevant. Personally, I'm sick to death of picking up junk mail of the sort you were out delivering (and removing flyers from under my windscreen wipers in supermarket car parks), and if your child had been dragged through the letterbox and devoured whole, I don't think I could bring myself to shed a tear.
“I think owners have a responsibility to put a sign up saying ‘beware of the dog’, or fit a cage on the inside of the letterbox so things like this can’t happen again.”
This is a view shared by most commenters to the article too. But, as the title says, there's always one:
Boris, Colchester says...
It is astounding to see such callous comments from the four contributors above. A bit of sympathy would have been in order.
Junk mail delivery is a legitimate occupation and nobody, least of all an innocent child, should be attacked just for delivering leaflets.
It is true the police can't get involved, but Ms. Smith should see a solicitor about making a claim against the householder for her son's personal injury. Before doing this she should check whether the house has prominent notices asking for no junk mail, and warning of a dangerous dog. Photographs would help. If there were such notices, it could reduce her chances of success.
Having said that, Ms Smith should have taken more care. Obviously Daniel will not be delivering any more leaflets, but anyone whose young child wants to help with leafletting (as my children and grandchildren happily did when they were of primary school age) should warn children never on any account to put their fingers through a letter box.
Clearly, dogs aren't effective enough. I think I need to purchase a king cobra.
What you need is a gharial, so it can get its snout through the letter box and seize anyone before they deliver anything.
ReplyDelete1. Local 'junk mail' advertising local small business is somewhat different. Lots of people earn a bit of pin money doing people's hair etc, and that is a good thing normally.
ReplyDelete2. Having your son help you with leaflets also is normal, in fact it's to be commended, the sooner they learn tot work, the better.
3. If you don't want junk mail, put a sign up. Most of the time it's respected, esp by local business who don't have time and resources to waste.
4. If you keep a territorial pet, it's up to you to ensure that the post box is safe, most people buy a cage to catch the mail and to save the posties' fingers.
5. If you pet attacks anyone for any reason, you always need to know, if only for your own safety.
Junk mail, a pet hate.
ReplyDeleteI have a sign up saying "No junk mail please! If you must leave it please place in recycling bin provided ---->."
Needless to say, every day my mat is awash with pointless unwanted crap.
Also, idiots with no sense personal responsibility chasing every chance for "compo", another lot I would not miss at all ... grrr.
I once helped someone out by delivering the Yellow Pages. I recall it was a bloody cold winter.
ReplyDeleteAt the briefing, we were warned never to put fingers in letter boxes - some of them are more vicious than the dogs behind - but to push the directory half-way through, then finish off the job with a tap with the flat of the hand.
Having seen a political canvasser nearly lose a finger to a neighbour's spaniel, I paid attention.
What are you, some sort of freedom hating communist?
ReplyDeleteThe woman is out promoting her business and you want to stop her doing it?
Move to Cuba if you don't like freedom here.
Report her to Social Services as she clearly neglected to ensure her child's safety.
ReplyDeleteNot really with you on this one. My understanding is that there is "implied consent" to go onto someone's land for various purposes, including delivering to the front door. Thus, unless there was a sign expressly prohibiting leaflet deliveries, it was not trespass.
ReplyDeleteSo your problem is a business trying to advertise. Or children helping.
ReplyDeleteWould you write the same post about postmen and paperboys?
As a youngster I was bit twice, once as per the post and another by a dog jumping the fence. This did succeed in making me fear and hate dogs, so I would probably class that as trauma.
Good job it wasn't a fox or he would have had his 'finger bitten off'
ReplyDeleteIt is a fact that if a person displays a 'Beware of the Dog' sign on their property, and the dog then goes on to bite someone under these circumstances, the dog-owner will be in more trouble than if they had not displayed the sign, as the 'Law' would regard them as having known they owned a dangerous dog before the incident occurred, and did nothing to prevent it.
ReplyDeleteShame for the boy. More shame on the mother.
"What you need is a gharial..."
ReplyDeleteCorking idea! I'd have to provide it with a box to stand on, though...
"If you don't want junk mail, put a sign up."
Sadly, that's a waste of time. It's either ignored, or the people delivering the leaflets don't read English.
"...most people buy a cage to catch the mail and to save the posties' fingers. "
I've never found it necessary, when delivering misdirected mail to my neighbours, to put my fingers INTO the letterbox.
"At the briefing, we were warned never to put fingers in letter boxes - some of them are more vicious than the dogs behind - but to push the directory half-way through, then finish off the job with a tap with the flat of the hand."
Yup, that's the way to do it.
"The woman is out promoting her business and you want to stop her doing it? "
ReplyDeleteNo, it wouldn't make it illegal, no matter how much of a nuisance I personally find it. I just cannot see how she has the nerve to whine about it when it's entirely her own fault.
"My understanding is that there is "implied consent" to go onto someone's land for various purposes, including delivering to the front door."
But not, surely, to insert part of your anatomy into that property? If the kid hadn't done that, he'd be safe from dogs. And spring-loaded letterboxes, which as Jeff points out, can be every bit as dangerous.
"Would you write the same post about postmen and paperboys?"
If they stupidly put their fingers into the letterbox? Yes, actually.
"Shame for the boy. More shame on the mother."
Ah, if only we did shame (or guilt). Now, we just do blame. And claim.
Stuffing the flyer iinto the malbox and the billboard on the highway is no different, it's called advertising and everyone has a right to do such. Also, you know freedom to engage in a means to survive as another important right?
ReplyDeleteMmm, actually, Karl, there's one crucial difference between the 'flyer iinto the malbox and the billboard on the highway', and that's the paying of a license or fee to do so to the owner of the land it sits on.
ReplyDeleteTell you what, give me a fiver, and you can shove whatever you like through my letterbox to 'advertise' your business.
I won't bite... ;)