A 4-yr old girl was mauled to death in Dubbo, NSW by three hunting dogs that were trained to hunt and kill wild pigs. The girl had made her way into her neighbour’s compound and approached the dogs. Two of the dogs were chained up, while one was roaming free. In the frenzied attack that followed, the two dogs that were chained up broke free.

The dog’s owner is a neighbour and family friend. The owner’s dad said that the dogs, any dogs should not be trusted. The dogs would most likely be put down. How did the girl end up wandering by herself? The mother had lost track of her for at least 4 hours during the day.

With the facts out of the way, here’s my thoughts:

  • Small children should never be left alone with dogs, big or small. Especially not with dogs that are trained and rewarded for being violent. They may behave themselves with a few adults around but a small child will be treated as inferior or a prey by dominant and powerful dogs.
  • Ever seen two dogs play and how they would snap at each other? Dogs have powerful jaws and on a small child, one snap in the wrong place is all that’d take to kill the child.
  • Ban aggressive breeds? Even friendly breeds like the Dalmation and Golden Retriever can kill. What about cross-breeds? Where do you draw the line?
  • Why was a 4 year old child left to wander on her own, outside of the house in the late evening? What the hell are the parents doing?

Trust turns to tragedy: a little angel lost in backyard attack - National - Sydney Morning Herald

At last count, the story at News.com.au has attracted close to 400 comments. Most of them lay the blame squarely on the parents. I’m glad to see that there are more people with common sense than not.