Like my headline?

Yesterday, there were two reports of an incident in Oshawa (just east of Toronto).  A little girl was bitten by a Golden Retriever and may need plastic surgery to rebuild her face.

Here are the two reports:

City TV:  Three Year Old Child Mauled by Dog

Toronto Sun:  Girl, 3, Bitten by Golden Retriever

Both of these media outlets have been sensible about the whole dog issue all along.  I wouldn't say they've really understood the issue but at least they have stepped up and voiced concerns over the Ontario dog breed ownership ban.

Still, I'm not satisfied with their reports because of the misinformation and the lost opportunity to educate the public.

The City report opens like this:

It's usually the perfect combination - a loving youngster and a gentle dog.

But something went horribly wrong at an Oshawa home Tuesday and now a three-year-old girl is facing the possibility of having plastic surgery.

Well, what went wrong is that the dog was just staying with the neighbours and the little kid was obviously bugging the dog somehow, maybe in an unsupervised situation.

Police say the youngster was being cared for by neighbours at 506 Lanlark Drive just after 1pm, and was petting a normally friendly Golden Retriever.

<snip>

The dog has been seized by animal control and those who know the creature are baffled. Golden Retrievers are generally among the most gentle of dogs and are usually excellent with children.

<snip>

I wonder who they consulted for this bizarre opinion on 'gentle' dogs who are 'excellent' with children?  It wouldn't be anyone I know.  It almost sounds like the type of thing self-styled expert Stanley Coren might spout - after all, he is unaware of how often dogs from the retriever group bite kids.

Dogs which are gentle and excellent with children are dogs who have been trained to be quiet and who have been exposed to children from puppyhood.  As usual, breed is irrelevant.

I note that the neighbour's son was away on a March break holiday and that he is the owner of the dog.  If he's down south, then he's likely a student which means he's busy and he's young.

You can bet that if the dog had been a DOLA dog, this report would have been written very differently.  We wouldn't have heard how the number one family pet in the US, the American Pit Bull terrier, a breed with a remarkable record as a child's companion, 'baffled' everyone by reacting violently to the unwanted advances of a little child.  Oh no, it would have been quite a different report.

Anyway, you can read, so let's move on to the Sun report. 

A three-year-old Oshawa girl was transported to The Hospital For Sick Children Tuesday afternoon after a Golden Retriever bit her in the cheek.

The girl was at a neighbour's home in the Rossland Rd. W and Thornton Rd. area when the dog attacked her around the noon hour. The neighbour did not own the dog, but was looking after the Retriever.

The girl's injuries are not life-threatening.

"It wasn't a big 'pit bull' type of attack or anything, but it was one bite and the child ended up with some serious damage," Durham police Staff-Sgt. Bruce Covack said. "It's a nasty gash."

<snip>

I don't know where they dug up Staff Sergeant Covack but he sounds like a bit of a twit.  Obviously, it wasn't a 'pit bull' attack, it was a Golden Retriever attack.  Talk about stating the obvious.  I guess SS Covack is unaware that there have been a tiny handful of attacks on children by DOLA dogs in Ontario but that bites by retrievers, shepherds, collies, spaniels, and other so-called friendly types have always been quite high.

I just wonder why they either make things up or quote people who are not well informed when they have a whole group of mavens whom they could consult.  They know who the mavens are because they write in to correct errors on a regular basis

The important message that this story conveys has been lost.

Don't leave tiny children alone with dogs, even your own dog, unless someone is there to supervise them.  This protects both the dog and the child - the last thing you want is for your dog to have a negative experience with a child - keep it positive for everybody.

Teach them to let dogs come to them.  Show them the proper way to introduce themselves to a dog.  Insist that they treat all animals with respect.  Never make assumptions about dogs.  Explain to them that a wagging tail doesn't mean a dog is friendly - it depends on how that tail is being wagged.  Don't let them approach a strange dog unless the owner is present and gives permission.  If the owner seems a bit odd or the dog looks anxious, don't encourage your child to interact with that dog - there's always another one.

There are no friendly breeds or unfriendly breeds.  There are dogs who have been managed properly and dogs who haven't.