Better To Keep Your Mouth Shut And Be Thought A Fool...

...than pen a letter to the local rag and thereby remove all possible doubt:

I write to correct the misrepresentations by the Evening Mail "Owner of killer dog must own up" (Our View), 6 August.

I am the person who was walking the dog belonging to the owner which savaged poor Mrs Daniels's little dog, an awful tragic incident. Both the elderly owner and I deeply regret that unfortunate incident.

I can assure you that the 70-year-old lady whose dog I was walking as she is too infirm to do so herself, feels absolutely devastated for Mrs Daniels, as do I. It was a truly terrible thing which happened. We are both extremely sorry for Mrs Daniels; we both love dogs.

The owner's dog had been rescued from the local pound three years ago, and showed no history at all of any savage instinct in that time. None at all (a fact later confirmed by the police officer monitoring the dog after it had been seized, who reported the dog as placid). The owner does not therefore deserve to be called an "irresponsible idiot", as you suggested.

However, the awful incident in question clearly was a savage attack. Therefore, due to the awful impact of this incident on Mrs Daniels, the owner has now ordered her dog to be destroyed, despite her having received no legal order to do so.

I hope these facts help to clarify the position.

Really?

Strange sort of 'dog lovers' if a 70 year old woman 'too infirm to walk a dog' gets not a Jack Russell or a Peke, but a powerfully-built bull breed, isn't it?

And just how did the attack take place anyway?

Debbie Daniels, of Flass Meadows in Barrow, is looking to raise awareness about the dangers of not keeping dogs on a lead after her 11-week old puppy was killed in a grisly attack.

The 50-year-old was playing with her puppy, Millie, in her garden when she caught sight of a larger dog on the other side of the fence.

Ms Daniels said: "I was sitting on the step and she was playing by the fence when I saw the dog across the road and noticed it was off its lead.

"It had come over and was pushing its nose against the fence so I picked Millie up and started to walk back to the house.

"I didn't think for a minute that it was going to burst through the fence."

Well, quite.

Mrs Stagg's sister, Mavis Lakeland, ran to the house after hearing the scream and believes the dog should have been on a lead.

She said: "The dog walker just stood there saying 'I didn't know the dog would do that', but what was he doing walking a dog like that off the lead?"

A question I note that hasn't been answered in the 'poor me, don't be nasty!' letter...