‘If children are afraid, don’t bring them to a dog beach’
MICK SMITH, who you interviewed recently, is wholly justified in his complaints about uncontrolled dogs at Portelet. I live right next to the beach and it is a real problem.
As an example, a few weeks ago I was on the beach with two small grandchildren; they had built a sandcastle and a loose dog ran up and urinated on it. The owner clearly thought this was funny. I did not think it funny at all.
Less than half an hour later a woman walked by with two boisterous dogs, which ran up to the two year old and knocked her over; the poor child was terrified. When I asked the owner to keep her dogs under control, she told me that if the children are afraid of dogs I shouldn’t take them to a dog beach, the implication being that Portelet exists primarily for the benefit and enjoyment of dogs and that anyone who is not a dog owner is a second class citizen.
The arrogance in that comment is breathtaking.
Mick is also right in observing that little bags of dog faeces abound throughout the area, sometimes thrown onto my property to be discovered later when strimming...
TONY BOUSFIELD,
Le Portelet.
