Linda Hall: Stranger danger rules apply

Linda Hall is assistant editor at Hawke's Bay Today.

Oh, look at the doggy, nice doggy. What does a doggy say?

I've said these little sentences thousands of times over the years to little people in my life.

Most children love animals. They love patting them, feeding them and just being near them. That's why places like the Hawke's Bay Farmyard Zoo in Haumoana are so popular.

We teach our children to be kind and gentle with animals, to love them and care for them.

But after the horrific attack on seven-year-old Sakurako Uehara last week, perhaps we need to teach our children to have a healthy fear of dogs. A bit like stranger danger - you don't talk to strangers and you don't go near or touch dogs you don't know.

Anything, really, to prevent another child being mauled. The thought of what Sakurako went through makes me feel sick.

In an instant her life and that of her family have changed forever. She faces years of surgery and pain and her family must watch her go through it all.

Doctors have said the wounds are about as bad as it gets. She was bitten more than 100 times and the first emergency service people at the scene say she was conscious throughout.

Bloody hell, that poor little girl was fighting for her life. You just can't imagine what she went through.

We don't know what happened at that house, what triggered such a frenzied attack.

Dogs are so unpredictable. Even dogs that are usually gentle by nature can snap or bite if they are frightened or hurt.

Dogs that are not used to the sudden movements of children can snarl. Most just give a little warning growl but you can never be sure.

Much has been written about dangerous dog breeds. Importing American pit bull terrier-type dogs is banned in New Zealand. The dogs that attacked this little girl were described as Staffordshire bull terrier-cross dogs. The owners of these animals must be devastated. I don't believe that any dog owner would want their dog to even nip a child, let alone do the damage that these dogs have done.

That's what is so scary about dog attacks. Can owners guarantee 100 per cent that their dog won't bite someone?

I don't think they can, because if they could, it just wouldn't happen.

Now, before dog owners get all up in arms, I'm not talking about people who waltz on to your property unannounced and get snarled at, chased or bitten - especially if you have a warning sign up. I, for one, would never open a gate with a "Beware of the dog" sign on it.

Anyone who does really has no right to cry foul if they are faced with a snarling dog.

I'm talking about dog owners who take their animals to public places and have no control over them. I've seen it myself - dogs way ahead or behind people out walking them. They have no control over the actions of that dog.

I've seen people call to them and the dog takes no notice whatsoever. If it did decide to take a bite at a passing cyclist's leg, the owner wouldn't have a chance to stop it.

Children are naturally trusting. If they have a family pet that they climb all over, run round the backyard with and lean on while they are watching telly, they most likely think all dogs are kind and gentle.

Unfortunately they are not - and it's up to us to teach them that.