To the Lady Who Ruined Our Walk...

Dear the Lady Who Ruined Our Walk,

During our walk tonight, something shocking happened. My dog was attacked by yours. Twice.

You may think that the expanse of land behind your house is a great place to exercise your dog is ideal. It is. You also may think it's acceptable to leave your garden gate open so your dog can roam that expanse of land- unsupervised- amongst other dog walkers, children and cars around the edge. It isn't.

I have found your dog roaming the streets near my house before, by himself. Remember? I brought him back to you after ringing the number on his collar. He was trotting down a road by himself in the middle of the day in an area which has quite a lot of traffic. You probably don't remember as you didn't seem that bothered to see him when I returned him.

So tonight, when I was walking Del in the dark, we got a shock. Del was on his lead. Your back gate had been left open, presumably so your dog can get exercise without you having to bother. Your dog spotted Del on his lead and sprinted over to him only to bite him twice on the neck. Del cowered behind my legs, crying. You only emerged when you heard the barking, growling and me shouting. Your response was a flippant, 'sorry love.' Then you disappeared back into your house.

Our walk was cut short as I had to bring Del home to check for blood where there was light. Thankfully, he's OK. However, we've worked hard to socialise Del to make sure he doesn't act around this around other dogs. I'd hate for an incident like this to be anxious around other dogs. But I'm sure you're not worrying about this.

So, Lady Who Ruined Our Walk, please lock your gate. Please exercise your dog properly, supervised. And please change your attitude.

Yours sincerely,

Rachael (& Del)



Has anyone had an experience like this? How did you react?