03/11/2026
Please take care everyone! Such a sad and avoidable tragedy. 😥
Literally on the heels of our latest post addressing concerns about child dog walkers, we learned about a weekend incident from one of our colleagues, where an eleven year old, walking his family's dog, lost control of the leash, when the dog pulled away and went after another dog, resulting in a fatal attack.
This particular incident, also highlights another concern, in that the child failed to report the incident to his parents, out of fear of getting into trouble. The child was also understandably traumatized.
Aside from everything we addressed on our prior post, non-disclosure of an incident, especially of this magnitude, fuels more concern than that of a child, who, in hindsight, may not have been prepared or mature enough, for the potentials during a dog walk.
A dog with the propensity to pull away from a handler while aggressively pursuing another dog, illustrates an extremely dangerous level of either dog, territory or fear aggression, or predatory drive.
Dogs with this behavior should never be out of their homes without behavior modifications in place, regardless of whether they are being walked by a child or an adult.
Parents, PLEASE understand the significant safety risks when you combine lack of physical strength to control a dog, with inexperience and lack of mental readiness to handle unpredictable situations.
If during our patrols, we should see a child walking a dog, and it doesn't appear safe or controlled, we will stop and offer our assistance or recommendations. Incidents, like the devastating one about which we learned today, are not only preventable, but they can leave life long emotional scars on everyone involved. Let's work together to keep our community pets, children and families safe.
