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.

@givingitupok post the photo on your local FB group.

I'd state politely that the dog was off lead and ran over and ate your picnic, so can the owner get in contact to arrange paying you the £XX for the food her dog stole. I'd then also point out the dog ate lots of grapes so her dog will need to see a vet. If it was dark chocolate I'd also mention that as dogs can't eat that either.

I have added the picture now. It was milk chocolate.

Hope the dog survives, good you posted to try and warn the owner. Assume they were in a punnet, so she may have seen. My friend’s dog is bad for stealing picnic food. They have to schedule walks not at lunch in summer. It’s very embarrassing for them. You probably should have secured the food instead of running away. Running from a dog is never a great idea, and if it’s off lead in a public place it’s not going to a threat. Owner was rude, but probably embarrassed.

Said dog above ate someone’s McDonalds when on a long line in a car park waiting to get into his car as car driver had door open and his McDonald's lunch in footwell. His wife was fuming he didn’t take the guys number to arrange payment but he said he was so mortified he just needed to get out of there fast. Especially as the nearest McDonald's was 15 mins drive away.!

Thanks.

I think it was the unknown levels of toxicity I was thinking about. My own dog unfortunately ate a chunk of fruitcake at an unknown point and luckily was fine. She is a Labrador though. And of course I know my experience is limited and not conclusive.

Are you the rude dog owner???

No, my dog would eat the child as well as the picnic

You have to be kidding? OP is perfectly entitled to have what she wants as a picnic - the dog’s owner should never have let the dog get in a position where it steals someone’s food.

Poor dog having such a useless owner.

Her actions in not adequately training her dog to be safe off the lead could now cause it to be seriously ill or die and it would be her fault

Good that you posted to try and warn her op...poor dog

😂

Hopefully the dog ate the chocolate and she ends up with a massive vet bill. Fucking irresponsible dog owners puss me off.

Tell your friends to keep their damn dog on a lead until they train it properly.

Wow 😆

That person would not be my friend. Surely they’d train the dog?

This.

“He’s harmless!!!”

Oh yes that will help my dog-phobic child, thanks 🙄

Who is only dog-phobic because some insensitive relatives let their massive dogs leap at us when he was one and had never seen a dog.

Why are some dog owners so oblivious/blinkered?

My ex MIL used to give her chihuahua red wine out of it's own glass. She'd come home from work and pour herself one and get one for the dog too. So with the addition of grapes and their toxins, the dog also had alcohol, daily.

That tiny teacup chihuahua lived to 16 year old and never had any ailments.

Our old heinz 57 ate 2 grapes the kids had thrown to her from the tree house and was exploding from both ends within a few hours, and she was a good 30+kg dog, and fortunately just needed some fluids and medical observation.

It's crazy how they can be affected or not affected but even though there's no safe dose, a good vet would want to see them even if only one has been ingested so they can induce vomiting.

I'm not a vet, nowhere near, but I do know sharpeis are predisposed to kidney issues, so poor, undiagnosed or declining kidney function plus the risk of grapes isn't something the owner should take lightly.

Surely your friend needs to keep her dog on the lead so that she doesn’t get embarrassed by its bad behaviour and people’s picnics aren’t ruined?

My dog would eat someone's picnic given the chance...she would eat anything!

Hence I keep her on a lead so that I have her under control and she cant bother people or end up at risk.

OP, please keep us updated on activity on the post!

Yes absolutely. Bloody entitled 'modern' dog owners. Absolute bunch of dickheads that think everyone should welcome attention from their untrained, lockdown furbabies.

At least half of all dog owners are not bright and responsible enough to own a pot plant let alone a dog.

That’s a god point about the breed differences. Pretty sure my lab could eat pretty much anything, but it’s the never quite knowing that is the hard and expensive part.

Think the heating is getting to some people.

What an atrocious dog owner. That kind of owner spoils everything for everyone. Poor you, poor DS and poor dog. She didn’t even give enough of a shit to ask what the dog ate. Grapes obviously bad, a small amount of milk chocolate probably won’t harm a big dog.

In my local park during this weather there have been loads of picnickers. The dogs who regularly walk there are having a great time running around to each blanket in their path obviously hoping to snaffle some snacks. They usually get waved away though.

Haven’t RTFT, just the first page so apologies if repeating.
Maybe if you’d have sat and guarded your food instead running and hiding, the dog wouldn’t have eaten your picnic. Yes the owner might’ve supposed to have had the dog on a lead, I don’t know, but if you’re walking a dog off lead and say a sausage was in the path, the dog is going to eat it. If however someone is sat holding the sausage/eating a hot dog, it’s unlikely the dog would make any attempt to eat it.
Unless the dog was bearing its teeth and running at you in menacing way, I find it strange that you would get up and run and hide.
I’m not a dog owner by the way and am actually not very fond of them, so I’m not defending dog or owner.
Also you might want to be careful you’re not giving your DS an unhealthy phobia of dogs.

Don't be so ridiculous. The dog was out of control in an area where it should have been on a lead. Completely the dog owners fault.