Editorial: Time for dog owners to front up

The latest dog attack in our city reinforces the need for dog owners to take greater personal responsibility for the animals that they keep.
As reported in last Friday's Chronicle, a Wanganui man and his fox terrier were set upon by three Staffordshire-cross pig dogs in Wembley Park. The man was understandably frightened by the experience, which resulted in his dog suffering puncture wounds to the throat and the man receiving bites to his legs and scratches to his face.
But even that incident, serious as it undoubtedly was, pales into comparison next to the ordeal experienced by a Bay of Plenty woman who had her scalp torn off in an attack by an American pit bull earlier this month.
There's been no shortage of legislative efforts to try to keep people safe around dogs.
Changes were made to the Dog Control Amendment Act in 2003, focusing on improving dog control and increasing public safety.
Among the safety measures is the controversial microchipping scheme, although it could fairly be argued that this particular scheme only helps identify dogs and their owners, rather than preventing them from necessarily attacking anyone.
In any event, the merits of that system became somewhat lost among the furious debate it sparked over microchipping farm dogs.
According to the Department of Internal Affairs, four dog breeds can no longer be imported - American pit bull terrier, dogo Argentino, Brazilian fila and Japanese tosa.
But dogs are animals, and because of that, there will always be an unknown element as to how much they can actually be controlled. There are countless tales of people being mauled by a much-loved pet, the family left bewildered by the sudden attack.
Similarly, there's no shortage of rules around how dogs must be fenced and leashed.
But there's one factor that's much more relevant than regulation - while dogs can be unpredictable, there's also no accounting for the actions of dog owners.
Once an individual buys or inherits a dog, the onus falls on that individual to keep that dog out of trouble, and to ensure it doesn't attack anyone.
Until we, as a nation, prove that we can meet that onus, perhaps the decision should be taken out of our hands.
The only way that will be achieved is through greater restrictions on the breeds of dogs people are allowed to own.
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