A WARM, sunny evening, a riverside bar, and a quiet drink with a couple of friends in a bar advertising itself as ‘Dog Friendly’: a few dog owners are in tonight, including those of a stunningly beautiful, if somewhat vociferous, husky. I’m fond of dogs, and feel comfortable in this place. But this tranquil mood is about to turn ugly.

Another owner turns up with another husky. A couple of barks, and it is war, with the first husky eluding its owners, and running across the bar to do battle. The dog means business, chomping on its rival’s leg, then going for the throat. The owners manage to part the dogs, which are then removed from the bar, but not before blood (canine and human) has been spilled.

As the owner of the second husky received first aid to wounds in his arm, I thanked him for his brave efforts (his dog was on a lead of which the owner had managed to keep hold while trying to extricate his pet) and asked if he thought muzzling would have avoided or at least diminished the severity of this incident. His response was a threat of personal violence.

The owner of the first husky then returns to the bar with his dog, with no muzzle in sight. I point this out to the bar staff, who shrug, then I join about half of the clientele as they make for the door. Like me, they wanted to have a drink in safety, and saw that they were not going to enjoy that privilege here.

The Dangerous Dogs Act (1991) makes clear that if a dog is allowed to behave as the first husky behaved, then the owners have committed an offence. However, enforcement of the law is difficult, and so there is little incentive for owners to take comprehensive measures to control their dogs in public. In practice, individuals will take responsibility of their own safety as I and many others did by walking away.

So, take care next time you see a ‘Dog Friendly’ sign in a window – the place might be friendly, but quite possibly the dogs, and their owners, are not.

CLIVE HEMINGWAY Arnolds Way Oxford

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