My yellow Lab was a sweet, gentle and very calm dog. Notice how I said was? Now she has become sad, nervous, jumpy and inconsolable.
She is just an innocent animal that should never have had to go through this drastic change. It was only one unfortunate event at Kalamalka Lake Provincial Park that caused her to suffer through all of this.
My mom had been running with my dog on one of the forested trails in Kal park and she had come around a bend in the trail only to come face to face with three vicious dogs who were all off leash.
In an instant, all of the dogs lunged forward and brutally attacked my dog.
Had there not been three people trying to wrench the dogs off my dog, she probably would not have survived. Instead, she was quickly rushed off to the veterinary clinic where she eventually had surgery.
This situation has left me feeling very sad for my dog as well as for other animals that might have experienced this. I am very angry because it’s not fair that people can make these poor decisions and get away with them. People should not be allowed to let aggressive dogs off leash in public areas.
I say this for the safety of all living creatures, whether they be people or animals.
If people did this to each other, they would be charged with assault. So why are dogs any different, especially when the attack is so brutal and the victim so helpless.
When a pet is so aggressive, we should take the responsibility for managing the pet’s behaviour so there can be no opportunity for an attack on any unsuspecting animals or people.
An experience at Kal park or any public area should be a good one, not one that you will remember as a nightmare.
People and animals should feel safe when outside in an area that’s accessible to animals of all kinds.
To create this safe feeling, we have to make a change in our rules about which animals should be let into the park and into our community.
Sarah, 12, for my dog Lily
