NSW: Call to ban dingo pets as girl killed
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Call to ban dingo pets as girl killed
Natalie O'Brien and Asa Wahlquist
December 28, 2005
A TWO-YEAR-OLD girl has died after being mauled by her family's dingo-cross
in an attack that has prompted calls for a ban on such dogs being kept as
pets.
The toddler was attacked about noon yesterday while playing in the back yard
of her house in Towamba Road, Nullica, a rural hamlet about 14km from the
town of Eden on the NSW south coast.
The dingo-cross, which was chained at the time, inflicted a fatal bite on
the girl's neck.
It is understood her mother and grandfather were home at the time. The
grandfather shot the dog after the attack.
Ambulance officers were called but found the toddler unconscious. She was
taken to Pambula hospital but she was declared dead on arrival.
A spokesman said police were investigating and would prepare a report for
the coroner.
The chief executive officer of RSPCA NSW, Bernie Murphy, said dingoes and
dingo-cross breeds should not be kept as pets.
"They have surly, snappy natures," Mr Murphy said. "They do not have family
dog characteristics -- they can be aggressive, territorial and reactive.
"Those sort of dogs should have no part of a family unit."
Mr Murphy said people needed to take care when choosing a dog. "The
consequences of getting it wrong are totally unacceptable," he said.
The RSPCA executive warned that toddlers should never be left unsupervised
with a dog.
Mr Murphy said inquisitive children poking and prodding a dog could provoke
an attack.
Melbourne veterinary behaviourist Lewis Kirkham said dingoes were wild and
unpredictable, and any animal that was chained up often tended to become
aggressive.
The majority of bites were from dogs known to the family, he said. "People
think a dog roaming the street runs up and attacks them, but that is not
usually the case. The dog is usually known by the family member."
Children aged between 18 months and three years were the most frequently
bitten, mainly because "they walk really unsteadily". They were also
vulnerable because they were often no taller than the dog.
Dr Kirkham warned that children under eight should not be left alone with a
dog, saying this was as much for the dog's protection as the child's. "There
was an instance in the US where a dog mauled a child. They put the dog down
and did a post-mortem on the dog, and they found a pencil embedded through
the ear into the dog's brain. So it is not always the child who needs
protection from the dog -- often it is the other way around."
The animal behaviourist said young children did not understand a dog's body
language.
For example, small children often stared at dogs. "That can be seen as quite
a threat for a dog."
But Dr Kirkham did not believe that certain dog breeds should be banned,
saying this would instil a false sense of security.
"Every dog should be judged on its individual merits," he said. "I don't
think banning breeds is something that works.
"The most dangerous dog I have seen is a golden cocker spaniel ... and that
is considered to be a family dog," he said.
"It's only because of the size they don't do as much damage as the bigger
pit bulls or dingoes."