17 people killed by dogs since 2024

Gran22boys

I am fed up with dogs everywhere. Is it a particularly British thing? Why do people feel the need to have one? Or even two or three? Apart from people with sight or hearing problems obviously.

Everywhere?

As a child every family I knew had a dog, single women more likely to have a cat. I suppose SAHMs made having a dog easier but it would be the Dads who walked them after work and at weekends, presumably glad of the exercise(or in my fathers case, an opportunity to get out of the house!)
Changing work patterns seemed to reduce dog ownership in my early married life but I had also moved from a small Scottish town to London which was probably more relevant.
How some people relate to their dogs has also changed and in many cases they seem to be substitute babies in childfree relationships. Each to their own surely.
But I agree about keeping numbers in proportion.
As for getting too close to strange dogs, the dog may appreciate this respect for its personal space too - not every human is friendly.

17 people killed by dogs since 2024

Source please

Let’s keep a little perspective on this.

That is 17 dogs - undoubtedly and overwhelmingly illegal XL’s or similar.

There are between 10-15million dogs in the U.K.

That is of 0.00014167% of the total dogs in the U.K. calculated at 12 million.

Dogs give an incredible amount of love, loyalty and value to their human companions both domestically and in the wider world.

So yes, they must be properly trained, yes they must be respected and yes if bred to be so can be dangerous. They are what they are because humans have interfered in their genes.

I'm not on this thread to argue about people having a dog. Some negligent people really shouldn't have even one, let alone two or more. The majority actually benefit enormously from owning one.
I am, however, concerned about the irresponsibilty of a growing number of dog owners.

I am fed up with dogs everywhere. Is it a particularly British thing? Why do people feel the need to have one? Or even two or three? Apart from people with sight or hearing problems obviously.

That's awful.
Is it mainly those XL bullies and similar aggressive breeds? Their physical strength and jaw power kills quickly.
I agree supervision of any dog is vital. That's why most attacks happen on home territory when owners let their guard down.