Dog park attack at Somenos
Somenos Dog Park Sunday, Jan. 20 approximately 1:30 p.m. — to the owner of the dog that attacked my seven-month-old dog, pinning him to the ground by the throat and ripping at his throat: as dog owners we are well aware that we cannot predict our dog’s reactions to other dogs.
Dogs determine which dogs they want to play with, be friends with, feel threatened by or instinctually respond from an aggressive or dominant position. Your dog’s attack may have been surprising to you, he may never have behaved this way before, you may not have known how to respond in the moment. In fact, every dog owner present, at least a dozen people, froze. No one came to my aid. I fully understand fight/flight/freeze which is a nervous system response physically beyond our control. However, I would have appreciated a response from you after the fact, checking to see what my dog’s injuries may have been, an apology, followed by a statement of action steps you will take to prevent your dog from attacking any other animal in the future.
City bylaws prevent aggressive dogs from being in off-leash dog parks, need to be humanely muzzled and on a leash in public places, and a report made to the animal control officer about your dog’s attack. I hope these are action steps you are taking.
Kendra Thomas
Chemainus