bunn

( I posted a suggestion to the new Your Freedom site about the ludicrous and costly Dangerous Dogs Act section 1. )

( I have grown a number of aubergines )

( I didn't deliberately plant tomatoes this year )

( I took Az and Perl to the vet yesterday. )

( Airships are the future! Or maybe not. )

( The Pandorica (without spoilers) )

And finally... the Oldies Club is currently considering an application to adopt from our oldest adopter yet. She's 97! The dog she's interested in is no spring chicken though - and she's an experienced owner (VERY experienced!) so they could be a good match.

This is an account from someone who has been working on the advice lines which have been helping people who have had their dogs taken away because they were the wrong shape. Mostly on Merseyside, some in London.

( It's not very well written, but good grief, there is some raw emotion in there. Oh, and it's long )

I've said it before, but I'll say it again. Why on earth is this law still in place? What the hell do Merseyside police think they are achieving by enforcing it in this way?

I wrote to my MP about this, and he agreed with my email. But he's a Lib Dem, so that probably doesn't help much.

I have just looked at  this PDF leaflet issued by Merseyside police about their  illegal dog amnesty.   It makes me angry.

 In particular, the description of 'how to identify an illegal dog' combined with 'who will decide a dog is illegal' and the advice to report dogs belonging to one's friends family and neighbours makes me want to march up and down ranting loudly.   I would like some non-dog-owner people to tell me if they think I am overreacting.

I know there are several dog-lovers on my friends list, so I thought some of you might like to sign this petition:

http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/deedNOTbreed/

At the moment there are several 'dog amnesties' planned and more being proposed. People who think they have 'illegal types' will be encouraged to hand them in to be put to sleep. This is a poorly thought out approach. People with genuine fighting dogs know that they are illegal, know they are dangerous, and are (I am informed by those who deal with the unhappy aftermath) unlikely to hand them in for the asking.

People who have seen a scary photo in their newspaper and think it looks like Fido, however, are panicking in droves, and so are their friends, relatives and neighbours, even though Fido is more than likely mostly Staffy or Labrador, and approximately as dangerous as a slipper, given appropriate care.

The Dogs Trust and Kennel Club have both said they think this is not the answer to the two recent very tragic attacks that have been reported.

There is a darker rumour that there may be moves to add more dogs to the banned breeds list. Because it is very hard to define a 'breed' unless the dog has known parents and a recorded pedigree, this is a slippery slope, and anything along those lines will hit crossbreeds and rescue dogs first and hardest. I hope there is no truth to this.