Yes, It Is Your Fault, But The Law Won’t Let Us Put You Down…

Liz Johns, of Queen’s Drive, was horrified when her four-year-old Japanese Akita Gigsy attacked 11-year-old Lucy near Henley Road, at around 10.30am on July 10.

I doubt, however, that she was surprised.

The 49-year-old, who has a stress-related illness said: “I never walk him on the same pavement as other people and other dogs because he’s too iffy, and he is nasty with other dogs.“

Now, I know pets are supposed to be good for stress, but presumably not the sort that need to be handled as if they were full of gelignite?

“I’m so horrified and it is horrible. The worst of it is he just holds on, and he’s panicking too, and I’m smacking him on the head to try and make him let go. It was me who saved her dog.”

Well, no. If not for you, and your thoughtlessness in keeping a dog you know to be dangerous and over which you have no control, she wouldn't have been in any danger in the first place, and you wouldn't be saddled with having to pay another dog owner's vet bill.

You did do the decent thing, I hope?

Once Gigsy had let Lucy go, Liz said Sharon quickly left the scene before she had a chance to speak with her.

She said: “I went home and called my vets to see if the little mite had been taken in. I called the police to make sure it was logged on the computers in case it escalated.

“I’m so sorry I couldn’t even afford to pay the vet.”

*hurls PC across room*

Gigsy had been involved in two other incidents more than a year ago but Liz said on both occasions he was the one who was attacked.

She said: “What worsened it for me is after the first attack I started receiving threats from other walkers, and one of them said they were planning to get a gun and shoot my dog.

I'm not bloody surprised! Two incidents is too many, now it's three, and you are here in the local paper trying to play the victim!

“I can understand their anger, but they are as bad as the dog for threatening something like that. That really frightened me.

“I’ve met people on walks and they are really surprised how friendly he is.

“He used to be really sociable, but he was trained badly by a shared partner who wanted a macho dog, who held him on a lead and made him anxious.”

Great! Your taste in bedmates is as poor as your taste in dogs!

She said: “I’m devastated because my dog’s done this. He should have had a muzzle, I know that I’m the guilty one and I am the perpetrator. I know what he’s done is wrong, and it’s me, not him.”

Sadly, he's going to be the one facing the needle.