by Sara 

Dog hurts child at the beach. Owner doesn?t aplologize

29 Comments

From an MV reader.? She reports that earlier today, a woman had her dog off leash at “Hidden Beach,”?and the dog ran?at her?two young children.? The women did little to restrain the dog and did not apologize after the dog knocked the?little boy over, resulting in several scratches and cuts.

When the dog owner was told of the injuries and reminded?that dogs are not allowed on the beach, the woman finally?got the dog on a leash, but still did not apologize.

The mother snapped these photos and sent her story to the Voice.

 

 

About the author 

Sara

  1. That is just terrible. Why can’t humans be nicer to each other. I hope the little boy recovers from the pain and the trauma.

    1. If we tell you where Hidden Beach is, then it wouldn’t be hidden any longer now, would it?

  2. I carry a stun gun in my purse. I am a dog lover, but when I go out to parks, the beach, anywhere I just have to crack the little thing for any aggressive creatures, canine or human, to sort of veer off. This is an easy way to get a dog running at you to just peel off. They are legal to use in Washington, but you must buy them on Amazon so they come from out of state, because I don’t believe they are legal to sell in Washington. My tiny one fits in my purse. When the neighbor’s dogs bark I also have a tiny ultra sonic blaster no one can hear but dogs…instant silence. Two small purchases that accomplish a lot. I am not an aggressive person and don’t carry a gun…just these two little devices.

    1. I sure hope the day doesn’t come that you have to use that stun gun. Not only for your own safety but for the cruelty a stun gun can inflict on any animal or human being. I am not pro or anti gun (or stun gun) just saying.

      1. Sure, it is much better to be passive and be viciously attacked by a dog or beaten, raped or murdered by a “human being”….because the victim certainly doesn’t want to be cruel to their attacker. Helena….please defend your comment

        1. I can’t speak for Helena and I don’t want to get into a heated debate about right v. wrong since every one has an opinion but really I am 68 and hike most days I can and love Discovery Park and the beach and have never been afraid of any beast or human in my path or circle. I guess if I was a sturdy stick or common sense would be my choice of weapon.

      2. In 12 years I have never had to use it. I just make a sound with it. If I had a gun and a criminal took it from me and used it on me, then a gun…or stun gun…is a bad idea. The crack of the stun gun is so scary that absolutely everyone stays away. I have never had a dog come close enough to even have the need to use it. The sound is universally terrifying to living things, which is a lot safer than pissing someone off with pepper spray.

    2. Stun gun is a great idea. If dog owners refuse to be responsible, it’s on us to manage their “friendly” pet that we don’t want knocking over our child or jumping on us. And the comment about that person being attacked by pit bulls? The owner just watches? What is wrong with this picture? That would be a clear lawsuit to me….

    3. Please get rid of the stun gun…the typical version sold to the public are NOT effective, and worse, require you to be in contact distance to effective at all. Get yourself some pepperspray, and the get the version as used by the police, which is the DEF-TEC brand. It shoots in a streamer fashion (as opposed to a cone or fogger type) and will reach several feet in distance. Get training, there is a lot to learn about its use.

      1. I am not talking about a stun wand or anything I’d actually use on an animal or person. Effective if judged by how it takes a person down is not really my reason for using it. The mere sound of it scares away dogs and alerts people. I have used it for years in parking garages and have never had trouble on trails or in the garages. Pepper spray and all that stuff, if used incorrectly, just angers the other person and gets you attacked. I have no interest in training to protect myself…I try to stay out of situations where one could have a gun taken away or any other device taken away by a stronger person. I am just saying that this simple sound has kept me and my children safe from dogs who approached.

        1. You are giving out very uninformed, and irresponsible information. Please stop, it will likely get someone hurt. There is a REASON, the cheap, ineffective stun guns you are promoting are NOT used by law enforcement…because they don’t work. If you wish to trust on the “intimidation factor” good luck. The first person to call your bluff, you are in trouble. Pepper spray does not get people angry, it disables them, with no lasting effect or permanent disability. It is actually safer than going “hands on” (which entails likely going to the ground/fighting) which is WHY the police use it, because it is such a low level of force.

          1. I suppose you walk your dog carrying an assault weapon. I am not carrying a stun gun as an aggression, just a sound that scares away creatures and gives pause to people wonder during what else I might carry. Jesus, I hardly expect hand to engage in hand to hand combat taking a walk in Magnolia. Go back to your Soldier of Fortune opportunities.

  3. I am very sorry to read of this incident. I can’t tell you how many times unleashed dogs have jumped on me while the owners either laugh or parrot “oh, they’re just being friendly”. I recently wrote Seattle Parks and Rec regarding all the unleashed dogs I’ve seen on South Beach in particular (mother’s day saw an epidemic of violators). I asked for more and larger signs. That’s not going to happen. But here is part of the response I received. I suggest this “MV reader” contact Tracy Bahrakis and report this incident. The more they hear from the public, the more likely some action will be taken (well, the optimist in me likes to think this).

    “Because Seattle Parks and Recreation has no enforcement authority, we rely on the Humane Law Enforcement Officers of the Seattle Animal Shelter to enforce the license, leash, and scoop laws. I’m herewith forwarding your message to Enforcement Supervisor Tracy Bahrakis (tracy.bahrakis@seattle.gov), who is in charge of the Parks Patrol Program at the Seattle Animal Shelter, to ask that her staff conduct some emphasis patrols at Discovery Park?s south beach. The Seattle Animal Shelter addresses all requests for service regarding animals, including reports of leash law violations in the parks. They are experiencing higher than normal requests for service, but will make every effort to patrol Discovery Park.”

  4. “Love me, love my dog.”

    People with dogs have no idea that these creatures, who are so pampered in our disconnected culture, aren’t everyone else’s favorite.

    Our society has gone off the rails when it comes to pets.

    I have come to think of people who can’t be without their dogs as what they are—mentally ill — I feel sorry for their affliction.

    That small child may be scarred emotionally and not enjoy dogs in this adulthood due to this early encounter with an irresponsible entitled dog owner who was blatantly breaking the law.

    Don’t get me wrong I enjoy dogs, when they are treated like pets and not humans and when their owners don’t let their lives revolved around them.

    Decades ago this country spent more money on dog food than text books that made me deeply saddened about our mixed up priorities in a world in need to innovation and new ideas.

    On average the family dog gets more smiles than the children on a daily basis….hmmm.

    It is all a very sad commentary on Seattle, a city with more dogs than children.

    Certainly it is a sign of misplaced emotions and unstable people who can’t think of others in the community whose lives are healthy and not revolving around four legged child substitutes.

    -Lisa in Lawtonwood

  5. the city is soooo stupid for not patrolling the parks/beaches more diligently. there is a small fortune to be made handing out tickets to idiots like this that choose to ignore the law, obnoxiously.

  6. I was attacked by two unleashed pit bulls right next to the kids playgrounds a couple years ago. The dog owner (female) just stood and watched. Can’t imagine what would have happened to small targets like children. Dog owners think they own the world and can do whatever they want. To the stun gun owner….GREAT IDEA!!!

    1. Honestly…pit bulls are no braver than yorkies when they hear a stun gun. All the posts below that say there are better protection devices out there…give me a break. Who wants to take someone or some animal on with a gun or pepper spray when all you want to do is take a little walk with your kid? I am just saying that the sound is universally understood by every dog as “stay away” and has worked for me even on coyotes when out on trails.

  7. Really enjoy dogs and the joy the bring into people’s lives! However, my big PET peeve are dog owners who completely disregard all conventional and well-established rules. I don’t know how many times I’ve been out hiking and dog owners are letting their animals run loose, chasing wildlife, jumping up on hikers, whilst the owners just stand there and say something like, “Oh, he’s just being friendly”! If I say something like, “You know the rules are that dogs must be leashed at all times on this trail” I’ll get a response, “He/she is under voice command”! Like, yeah…..right! Your dog is going to come running right back to you once it sees a squirrel or some other wildlife and goes chasing it over hill and dale…..I don’t think so!

  8. Although it is unfortunate that the child was knocked over and also unfortunate that the owner was not more apologetic, kids often fall down and get scratched up without the help of a dog (especially on a rocky
    beach such as that).

    Are we going to get a new post by this parent ever time their kid gets pushed/tripped by another child or falls down on their own?

    I also think it is inappropriate for Magnolia Voice to post the picture of this accused offender and their dog (without any proof), since it would be easy to identify them and there are a lot of crazy people out there that might take retribution (like with a stun gun).

  9. Using a stun gun may be a bad idea. A safer route is to photograph the violator and violator’s license plate and email both photos to Officer Rogers at Animal Control. Easy process. A warning letter is sent to the violator for a first offense and they are entered in the City’s computer system. Each offense after that results in a fine. This process also lessens the burden on Animal Control to patrol all of the City’s parks. Also, I have no problem with Magnolia Voice posting the photo of the violator in this story. Assuming the allegations are true and her dog was off leash and injured a child, the community is entitled to know about the people in our community who ignore the rules that apply to everybody. The violator has no right to privacy when photographed in public. In fact, anytime you see somebody with an off leash dog, or a litterer, or a vandal, or a BAT lane violator, or any other community rules breaker, photograph them and post the photo. Public shame will likely cause that person to think twice about ignoring the rules that apply to everybody.

  10. You know what’s more affective than this typical Seattle passive-aggressive blog posting with photos and indignation? Calling her a c**t to her face. Trust me, I’ve done it, it works.

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