Spate of dog incidents a cause for concern
- Steve Pike
- 7 days ago
- 9 min read
A spate of ugly incidents and attacks involving dogs in Kommetjie has led to fears that badly behaved dogs (and defiant humans) may soon see the City revoke our right to walk dogs on Long Beach (unleashed or not).
Much debate has occurred on the Kommetjie Kommunity Facebook group recently, stemming from several reports of serious attacks by dogs on humans and other dogs, and even a cat that was killed by an errant pit bull from outside Kommetjie.
Naturally, indignant pit bull owners went on the defensive about how their pets were loving and well trained, while others railed against the bad reputation of this "power breed", leading to another resident posting a graphic showing human deaths by dog breed, which didn't look so good for pit bulls, nor for a host of other scary canine enforcers, most of which are familiar.
A reasonable person might say that a dog bred to kill might possess a random and hidden disposition to maul another creature no matter how well that animal's "recall" ability is -- in the perfect sinusoidal world of dog disciplining. The bottom line though, is that whatever your view, the population of the Kom is growing, and trouble is coming.
That means more dog-owning humans are arriving. And that, furless friends, means that by the laws of natural selection (on the part of the human gene pool), a growing number of poorly trained and badly managed dogs are entering the community, some from the walled suburbs of inland cities who subscribe to different residential and environmental conditioning (canine and sapiens).
And yes, of course it goes both ways. Many newcomers are perfectly responsible dog owners, and there are long-time residents who are not so much. But either way, it's not about how well your dog is trained. It is not what breed of dog you have, and how it would never harm a fly. Statistically, how secure is that promise? As we can see from some posts on Kommetjie Kommunity, not very secure at all. But it is ALL about how you treat your dog, and how it has been brought up and exercised.
Sadly, pretty soon its not going to be about why you live in the Kom, which many say is to feel free and chilled out in a pastoral paradise, where dogs and humans can frolic gaily on the sun-kissed sand of a leash less beach. This idyllic scene would probably be fine when the people in it have been socialised correctly, with the requisite, basic tenets of decency, compassion and empathy for others, but when they haven't, you can't expect their dogs to have good manners either.
A surge in nasty incidents is leading to increasing numbers of humans avoiding the beach altogether, some for fear of the danger being there poses to elderly relatives, young kids, dogs, and even themselves. You can scoff at their decision to do that because your (innocent I know!) giant hound bounds around the beach scaring the living bejesus out of innocent bystanders who don't share your joy, or understanding, of what it means to bring up and tend to a dog, with all those memories of good times shared together. Over time, pets become 'fur babies' and all manner of cute extensions of the family, and that's okay when it's all good, but a bit awkward when it goes bad.
Some of the human frailty, although not all, boils down to human intransigence, and the stubborn insistence of a right that many responsible dog-owning humans will feel that they have earned, which in many cases is true, but it is a right that can be very easily taken away on account of the unthinking few.
Doctor Mike Smit, long-time Kom resident and general practitioner, managed four emergency units in Pietermaritzburg over 20 years, and while KZN had a different dog attack profile (some scary stuff about rabies), his experience is invaluable.
"My concern for our Kom kommunity is that a dog on a leash is not necessarily a dog under full control. Our lifestyle is one of people moving freely and safely around the area on foot, skateboard, and bicycles without fear or interference by vehicles, animals or other dangers," he says.
"Dogs are accepted in the kommunity on the presumption that they are safe, secure, trained and their poop is scooped."
Dr Smit summarises his experience in dealing with medical trauma involving dogs:
Children under nine are generally bitten on the head and face.
Older folk - over 70 - tend to get bumped over easily and tend to get fractures.
Bites cannot be stitched immediately but at another visit in case of infection, which is frequent.
Most dog bite repairs in humans require sedation or anaesthetics and plastic surgery.
All people bitten by dogs other than their own suffer ongoing Psychological trauma, often permanent - PTSD - and permanent fear of animals.
Older folk with hip fractures have an increased incidence of death within 6 months.
Financial costs to those bitten are enormous and extensive - and seldom covered by the dog owner unless occur on the owner`s property and insurance involved.
There is a low incidence of rabies vaccinations in animals when followed up. This creates more cost and anxiety to victims who must then be fully 'rabies prevention' managed.
Dr Smit added that in his opinion dog owners can be very insensitive to the feelings of non-owners, as seen by numerous 'landmines' on the grass at the Kom: "They seem unaware that this can be a contamination risk, especially dog faeces washing into the sea, causing algae blooms and more".
In a post on Facebook, dog behaviourist Taryn Blyth, from the Kommetjie Canine College, concurs that dogs, and humans, go through trauma when dogs are attacked, let alone when the humans are mauled.
"I have had to watch previously confident and easy-going dogs and owners struggle to recover from the impact of these attacks – I have seen the changes in the emotions and behaviour, not just of the dogs, but of the owners, who now have conditioned fears around dog-dog encounters and can no longer freely enjoy all the activities they previously engaged in," she wrote.
She bemoaned the situation where "responsible dog owners, who have devoted years to carefully raising, socialising, training and managing their dogs from puppyhood to well-adjusted, confident adults – to then suffer and cope with behaviour issues and their own emotional turmoil, because someone else was not responsible with their dog and gave no thought to the welfare of others".
"I am angry and frustrated, because in every case, these were not “accidents” – by which I mean that there was a history of problems which led up to these events – yet, despite this, all the culprits were off lead, the owners had no control and in some cases didn’t even bother to intervene during the attack. In all cases, there were serious injuries requiring veterinary treatment," she wrote.
Taryn mentioned three main issues:
1. IRRESPONSIBLE HUMANS
She points to repeated patterns of aggression where dogs that are known to be aggressive are allowed to escalate this behaviour in public, while the owner half-heartedly calls them from half a mile away. Most people have tolerant and sociable dogs that are walked in social areas where everyone interacts happily. However, she says, there is a growing sub-group of dog owners whose behaviour is "truly appalling": who spoil things for the many, who expect their dogs to behave badly, and don’t seem to care. There is a lack of management around roads, car parks (dogs let loose from vehicles when they arrive), and a lack of control around cyclists, joggers and horse riders. Basically, a disregard for rules and regulations.
2. GENETIC DENIALISTS AND THE POPULARITY OF FIGHTING BREEDS
According to Taryn, three out of four serious cases involving her clients were due to attacks by pit bulls. Dogs genetically selected to kill each other "don’t mess around" when there is conflict. She says many owners of “fighting” breeds do not avoid potential triggers. They try to prove their dogs are harmless by allowing too much freedom. Warning signs are ignored in social situations, such as day-care and dog parks. She firmly denies that they are necessarily the instigator of conflict, but in risky situations, genetic predisposition can easily be sparked to overrule the most careful training.
3. TOO MANY DOGS
By-laws limit dogs to three per household. (See this post of an attack by one of FIVE dogs). Yet people will happily acquire six or seven, with some rescue organisations regularly allowing people to adopt more - in some cases, as many as 8 or 10. People often do not even begin to attempt any control and the dogs are let loose on the unsuspecting public.
Taryn says that none of the above is acceptable. "It is vital that we have areas where dogs can run free, but with that freedom comes responsibility. Dogs with a history of serious aggression have no right to run free in public – EVER. Dogs who attempt to bully other dogs and have brewing social problems should not be allowed to rehearse their behaviour on other dogs to 'sort themselves out' – EVER," she says.
"If you have a friend, family member or client who acts in an irresponsible manner with their dog, tell them – nicely - and then more firmly. Find a way to explain how what they are doing impacts on others or explain the legal consequences, if that is all that might get through to them. If your dog or your client’s dog is a victim of a serious dog attack, go to law enforcement or insist your client does so and report the matter.
"Everyone always says, 'But it isn’t the dog’s fault and the dog could end up being removed or put to sleep if I complain'. The fact is that in MOST cases, you will find that your dog or the dog you know is NOT the first victim. Unless you can establish that there was indeed a genuine “accident” or unforeseen situation and the dog has no history of prior incidents, I guarantee that your dog is not the first and won’t be the last. How many should it take before something is done? How many socially healthy dogs and confident owners must be traumatized for life before it is worth doing something about? Why is that dog’s life more important than all the dogs that he or she ends up mauling, before someone has the courage to put a stop to it?"
"I value the freedom that we have to walk our dogs off lead in many places, which allows them to join us in our recreation. It is SO important to me and I am sure it is just as important to you. But with that freedom comes responsibility. If we don’t start exercising some responsibility and trying to encourage (or force) others to do so, we could honestly end up losing everything. I don’t want that to happen – do you?"
Taryn says that in Scarborough, they have set up a Dog Task Team under the Scarborough Village Association to educate the community and to deal one on one with problematic people to get a lot of the negativity off social media and dealt with practically.
"If there was someone who had experienced something unpleasant or serious with a dog owner, they could come to us and we would advise them and when appropriate, approach the dog owner and try to educate them. When all else failed, we would assist the "victim" with going to law enforcement," she said.
Maybe something to consider for Kommetjie as well? KRRA is discussing this.
Report any incidents to the City of Cape Town 021 480 7700
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Why?
The KRRA has existed for eight decades and is run by volunteers who work on issues from spatial planning, road safety, social fabric, resilience (disaster mitigation), and environmental integrity such as alien clearing, indigenous planting, beach cleanups, and the restoration of our rivers and wetlands. We get walkways fixed and look at better access. We monitor building and development, and put together alerts and updates via newsletter and social media. We deal with issues that benefit you.We would ask for some reciprocation financially (as well as ideas or volunteers) to enable the above work, which sometimes includes serious issues with legal fees attached. If every Kommetjie household donated just R50 a month (less than R2 per day), the KRRA would have a healthy enough budget to tackle almost anything thrown our way.
Contact Patrick Dowling on 084 966-1249 for additional information.
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