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One of the best things about being a dog-owner is taking an early morning walk with him in our local park. I watch Muggles, my golden retriever, bound around with joy – freely. Not being on a lead means he can roll around in the icy grass and chase squirrels. Even the sight of him makes strangers smile. But that might all be about to change.
Now, dog owners like me are being threatened with the prospect of “dog Asbos”, simply for taking our beloved pets off the lead in some of London’s largest parks.
Tower Hamlets counciI have put forward proposals to use a public spaces protection order (PSPO) to ban dogs from all gated playparks and sports areas except “specific, yet to be defined areas”. They’re also looking to ban dog walkers from leading more than four pooches at a time – which completely misses the point.
The plans don’t take into account the dog’s breed – many are extremely low risk, while others are not – or its cuteness factor. That means even the most friendly and unthreatening dogs such as chichuauas, cavapoos and golden retrievers like Muggles would be treated like enemy number one.
I have to say that if it came down to it, I’d take an Asbo for my dog – because Muggles has rights, too. He deserves to live a fulfilling life, just like the rest of us. Handing out Asbos because we don’t pen in our dogs is simply cruel.
The council argues that the potential exclusion of dogs running free is justified by a wave of violent dog attacks, as well as constant dog fouling. But there is no clarity on where – or how – they will enforce these new regulations.
Will I and many others live in fear of being caught on camera and sent a Fixed Penalty Notice of up to £1,000 for breaching the order– just because we let our dogs off the lead to get some exercise at quiet times of the day, such as first thing in the morning? Is that fair?
I understand that dog owners need to be responsible – and it is not always the case that they are. For sure, there are some rough and intimidating-looking dogs around that make me nervous, too.
But I also know that many dogs which look stereotypically scary – like Staffies – often have an unjust reputation for being aggressive. A study from the Royal Veterinary College (RVC) revealed that despite the bad press, Staffordshire Bull Terriers do not show increased risk of aggression compared with non-Staffordshire Bull Terriers.
And those icy blue-eyed Siberian huskies that look like something out of a Twilight film can actually be the sweetest dogs – even though they may look terrifying to non-dog lovers.
The problem with blaming dogs and their owners for everything is that we become the victims of other people’s fear of dogs, which needs addressing too. Of course, some fear may be based on direct lived experience – but for a lot of people, I’d bet it’s based on perception, not example.
Muggles is huge and fluffy, like a giant sheep, with swoon-worthy brown doe-eyes – and wouldn’t harm a fly. I brought him up alongside my two children and he’s never been close to biting them, even when they tried to ride him like a donkey.
Yet when I’m out with him and he’s pottering about harmlessly, I’ve had people run away, practically at 100 miles per hour, as he goes towards them. They act as if they are being chased by Jack Nicholson in The Shining. I’ve even had people scream at me, “keep your dog on the lead” just because he jumped in the lake at the Serpentine and swam after a duck.
Worse, I’ve had a parent call the park police in my local park when Muggles went near her young child – and then she accused him of biting him! I left her my mobile number and fled with Muggles for my life to get back home before the police arrived.
We both nearly had a heart attack running through the side streets to safety – I was panicking my little fur baby would get arrested and put into a compound, or even get put down. I remember when Princess Anne feared for her English bull terrier Dotty’s life, too, when she “uncharacteristically” attacked two children in 2002 in Windsor Great Park.
Of course, there are instances when dogs should be put down and muzzled – or always kept on a lead. And I’m not saying we dog owners are perfect – I’ve certainly learnt from experience that it is my responsibility to keep my dog away from small children in case they might be scared.
But it’s simply not fair, practical or responsible for people to keep pets on leads for the rest of their life, especially a big dog like mine who weighs 40 kg and needs the exercise to lose weight.
Slapping us all with Asbos for letting our dogs roam free is something I couldn’t have dreamt up in my worst nightmares. It takes all the fun out of dog walking. Muggles was born to run and get covered in mud – he should be allowed to do so.
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