Dog ate my picnic

[givingitupok]

Had a picnic with my child today in our local park. Random dog (Shar Pei) appeared out of nowhere and ran over to us. I stood up and picked up my child and ran in a panic and stood behind a tree (probably looked like a total fool doing so but there was nowhere else to go without running towards the dog!). No idea where the owner was at this point. Watched the dog eating our food and also drooling all over our lunch box. Owner suddenly appeared from a path that lead into the park screaming at her dog to 'get here now'. Dog totally ignored her and she had to grab it and literally drag it away and put the lead on it. She apologised but when I asked her if she was going to pay for our food she actually had the gall to say 'you should have picked it up when you saw him coming' !!! I have just got home and this literally only happend 45 mins ago so am still fuming. She did not pay for our food and despite initially apologising, was incredibly arsey and walked off in the opposite direction. My child is very upset and the worst bit is, he has SEN and made everything in the lunch box himself (spread the sandwiches, cut up the apples, broke the chocolate into pieces to fit it in the container, etc). This was quite a big thing for him and he's really upset. I am also on a low income and spent a lot on the food. I took a photo of her and it clearly has her face in it. Not sure why but I just felt like I had to do something. I am not going to name and shame, but I'm just so angry.

Not sure what I want from this thread. Just rather pissed off.

This thread has actually become embarrassing to read. I came on here for advice after a seemingly ownerless dog ran towards me and my ND son (I have no idea how he would have reacted and it could have been badly), and I'm being accused of being a liar, that I reacted incorrectly and should have either given the dog my food to distract it, ignored my fight or flight and grabbed it to move it despite not knowing it's temperament, washed my grapes, not used the word pot and punnet interchangeably, shouted 'no' at the dog and sat there and waited to see what happened. I appreciate most people are supportive, equally I think it's very sad that a panicked and tired mum who had he food eaten by a random dog is being picked apart for not doing everything perfectly.

The fact that I got my son to contribute to the picnic, make it there without a meltdown, even get up in the morning after no sleep was an achievement for exhausted me yesterday, and I just needed to vent. I am leaving this thread now. Hiding it and not looking at it again.

Thank you those who get it and have been helpful.

Next time I will make sure only to pack dog treats.

Oh, she already has been! Along with others accusing her of making it all up. There were some absolute loons on MN yesterday - it must have been the heat so better buckle up for today too. 🙄

That’s fine if all dog owners actually abide by that. They don’t in our area (well, the responsible ones do - and the dogs belonging to the others are under exactly as much control as you’d expect from people who think the rules don’t apply to them)

I don't blame you OP. I saw so many threads yesterday with loons commenting on them like this. It's such a pity that their comments are allowed because it just makes a joke of the very reason MN exists for (and why I would never start a thread on here). You did nothing wrong OP. 🤗

What was going on with the replies on this thread yesterday did the heat turn people nutty? Blimey some of these responses

I love dogs and have one, but owners like this are giving all of us a bad name.
DD had a new trainer picked up off the beach by a Labrador recently who swam out to sea with it and abandoned it.
Owner thought it was absolutely hilarious.
Actually got out her phone to film it.
When I asked if she was going to pay the £70 to replace them I was told I was an idiot for paying that much (among a lot of other expletives).

A dog pissed on our bags and towels at the beach recently. Owner utterly useless, first tried to deny it (we'd both watched him do it) and then said "oh he pisses on everything at the beach!" Well maybe you should keep him on a lead then?? Furious doesn't describe it.

Those Shar Pei dogs look quite aggressive and tend to be owned by people of the same ilk as those who own XL bulldogs, mastiffs etc. I would absolutely pick my children up and hide if one of those came towards us. She should have had the dog on a lead, for that reason, she is responsible for the damage to your property. You could circulate her image on local Facebook groups and see if you can get a name. She should absolutely pay for the food that her dog damaged/stole. It must have been upsetting for both you and your son. Society has no respect anymore. If it's any consolation, the chocolate in the lunch box will likely make the dog very poorly...maybe the owner will then regret not controlling her dog but then again, shar pei/bulldog owners tend to be lacking in brain cells. I would have been fuming if it were my picnic. I'm so fed up of dog owners thinking the park belongs to them. I was always very mindful of others when I used to walk dogs and always kept them on a lead.

I have to say, people do seem to abide by the rule here - largely because they're challenged by others if they don't.

I'm with you, OP!
I'd post her pic on a local Facebook group.
It's outrageous and I hope your son is ok.
I cannot stand entitled dog owners, especially those who think we should all be fawning all over the things.

Dogs should be on a lead in all public places. The garden at home is the place for off-lead play.

@BigFatBully Did you read all of OP's posts? (It always helps before posting.)

and you took a photo of said dog and posted it on facebook because you read here that dogs shouldnt eat grapes and you wanted to warn the owner ha
what on earth make you take a photo in the first place @givingitupok
what were you going to do with the photo?

Why would anyone tell someone just to stay put when a strange, untethered dog is charging towards them? It’s ludicrous to tell people to ignore their primal urge to flee from possible harm. I don’t care if it’s the Hound of the Baskervilles or a handbag sized chihuahua, my gut instinct is to at least jump up ready for action. And as for simply putting a hand up and shouting ‘no’, it’s laughable. My SIL’s dogs would bark in your face, charge past your outstretched hand and start snaffling your sandwiches with gay abandon. And she would run after them screaming dramatically, arms flailing. And they would ignore her. Which is the crux of the problem here. Stupid dog owners who don’t train or restrain their animals. There’s a lot of it about. They give decent dog owners a bad name.

Your minimising of the OP’s fear and disbelief of the facts and accusations of her exaggerating show exactly what kind of owner you are. Owners like you make it so much harder for the many more decent owners who get then tarred by the same brush.

I was on the local beach yesterday with my young dd. Rural area so very few people about. My dd was paddling, I was watching her when I suddenly felt something at my back. It was a terrier that had run up, no owner in sight. I tried to keep it away from dd but it got over to her anyway and jumped up at her. She got upset and started howling. Owner still nowhere in sight. He did, finally, appear and put the dog on lead, along with the usual “he’s only young,” “he’s just being friendly.” I pointed out that, friendly or not the dog had scared my daughter and got a mumbled apology. The thing is that, from the direction he came from her would have seen the toys on the beach so would have known there was a high chance there was a young kid in the vicinity.

Yes ignore those posts. Ridiculous

Unfortunately the fur baby brigade will deny that their little baby could do anything wrong. It happens everywhere, dog attacks sheep and lambs - it is just been friendly and wanting to play. There was an incident locally and there were the 'it was an accident, they happen!' cries of defence.

Dog jumps over you - you are the one at fault for not enjoying getting licked and nibbled and covered in dog hair. It is young, not had any training etc I have heard every single excuse as to why I have nip bites on my arms and legs.

A dogs manners are usually an accurate reflection of the owners, I just yell hard at the dog and if nothing else it may embarrass the owner with the attention. Dog might even get the message. I would also have a ton of grapes and sultanas out just in case. Coffee is also bad for them as an owner said when her manky lab crawled over me to get at my cup.

OP was actually taking a photo of the owner and her dog. I'm sure this was instinctive because the woman had been so obnoxious.
As it turns out, OP's instinct was rather prescient because the FB post has allowed the owner to be identified by a relative and warned to take her dog to the vet urgently.

a likely story!
i still stand by my comments, op took photos of dog and owner, just because,
and posted on facebook with fake concern

Oh come on, most dogs off leads with owners in a public park are not going to be dangerous dogs. Every day dogs and people interact at open spaces across the country without incident. Running away afraid is a ridiculous over reaction to a dog who has just gone ahead of its owner. I guess in the world of mumsnet everything is a danger, I mean answering the phone or door isn’t the done thing, let alone assume a dog in a public park isn’t out to savage everyone. The hysteria for basic every day things on here is ridiculous.

why is this instinctive?
is this instinctive to be a vigilante?

I must ask, how did your dog peel the foil off of the coins?

Spot on. And Shar-peis are guard dogs who have a fiercely loyal nature and are known for being affectionate to their owners, but can sometimes be aggressive towards unknown people and other dogs due to their protective nature. In any case, all dogs can be unpredictable and OP (or anyone else) shouldn't be expected to guess if a dog could turn nasty or not. The irresponsible owner of this dog was entirely to blame for what took place. OP was not - in any way.

My last dog was a menace with other people’s picnics. I discovered this when she came away from an (adults only) picnic with a sausage roll in her mouth. I was completely mortified, although they were very good about it. In fairness, she was off the lead on a river bank, not in a park, and their picnic was hidden by the slope so I didn’t see it, but I couldn’t imagine being anything other than completely apologetic. I got used to scanning the horizon for potential picnickers after that. Dog owners are like the rest of the population - generally reasonable with some complete arseholes. Unfortunately you met an arsehole, OP.