Once a week for the last couple of months, I've had to walk a particular route with my son (re. an activity he's been doing). We pass a house on our way, and the owner has a Doberman dog kept in the garden. Every time we pass, this dog comes charging across to the fence (a high metal one) barking like mad. Naturally, given the breed, it's a bloody terrifying sight if it catches you unawares. I'd forgotten about it today and it scared the living daylights out of me. The house is next to a busy road.
It made me think back to my son when he was about four or five and petrified of all dogs, when he would just scream and run if he saw one. I had to keep a pretty tight hold on him because of it, was a stressful time. We now have our own dog and he's okay with them. But the way this animal behaves is concerning me for the safety of other children - the traffic on this road is non-stop. Surely dog owners aren't allowed to let animals roam about their gardens behaving in this way? No doubt the owner would say it's a guard dog just doing its job (god knows why, the house is a shit tip). I don't like dogs being penned but I don't like having the bejasus scared out of me either.