Michelle Louise Simpson, 51, became the first person in Western Australia to be charged with unlawful wounding because of the actions of an animal and pleaded guilty.

She apologised in court for the attack on a nine-year-old girl in a park in Bassendean, Perth, and was given an eight-month suspended sentence. Here the victim's father writes. ..

Why do we love our dogs?

Is it the unconditional love they give us? Is it because they’re always excited to see us walk through the door? Is it the comfort they give us when we've had a rough day at work? Is it the companionship they give us in our older years when getting out of the house gets a little harder? Is it because they listen so intently while we tell them our deepest thoughts?

I think it’s all of these things, and more. But this is also part of the problem. It’s a problem that's complex, packed with emotion, and difficult to solve. The problem is that we see our dogs not as animals, but as humans, as part of our family, as our ‘fur children’. But dogs are animals, and have a very different set of physical and mental needs to that of humans.

Dogs live in the moment - every moment of every day. They don’t have thoughts about the future, they don’t care what happened yesterday, they don’t consider risk and they don’t consider consequences. They don’t consider our feelings or our fears. They don’t think or act like rational human beings; because they’re animals they react on instinct.

These two dogs attacked Paul Godfrey's daughter Kaitlyn.

Just over a year ago, my step-daughter was viciously and relentlessly mauled by two dogs while she was playing in parkland near our house. It doesn’t matter what breed of dogs they were, other than they were big, and vicious and relentless in their attack. In fact, if it hadn’t been for my 17-year-old son’s incredible act of selfless bravery in pulling these frenzied dogs off his sister while they were tossing her about like a rag, I am convinced the news story that night would have been completely different; I am convinced those dogs would have mauled her to death.

Those dogs didn’t stop and consider Kaitlyn. They didn’t pause and give thought to the consequences of their actions or how she might feel. They didn't think about the impact they would have on my little girl's life; they just attacked. They heard my daughter scream in fear as they ran full tilt towards her. They heard her begging for them to stop, when she was afraid that she was going to die. Those dogs acted on instinct and the taste of my daughter's blood.

I think I am unfortunately and uniquely qualified to give my opinion on this topic. I own a Staffordshire bull terrier, and my daughter was the victim of a brutal, off-lead dog attack by two dogs of a similar breed.

So let’s be honest with ourselves; the dogs aren’t the problem.

Kaitlyn will have life-long physical and mental scars.

Kaitlyn was viciously mauled.

Kaitlyn's step-brother managed to pull the dogs off her.

Our problem is that too many dog owners just don’t know enough about owning and caring for the dogs they love.

One irresponsible dog owner is the cause of my daughter’s life-long physical and mental scars. But when you dig a little deeper, the problem gets even worse. Approximately 1260 dog attacks were reported across 13 Perth local council jurisdictions in 2015/2016. This is a public safety issue that requires political intervention.

The dogs' owner was handed an eight month suspended sentence. (Image: 9NEWS)

Exacerbating the problem is unregulated backyard breeders. Too many puppy farms - concerned about quantity and not quality. Too many families breeding dogs in their backyards to make a quick buck and not considering or understanding the impact of breeding ill-tempered animals, and selling them to unsuspecting families. A cute ticking time bomb with a wagging tail and wet nose.

The solution is to educate dog owners. Perhaps it can be part of the dog registration process. Perhaps it can be overseen by councils, coordinated and delivered by our rangers, but we need to teach dog owners how to properly care for the pet that has become part of their family.

Premier Mark McGowan made a big song and dance during the election campaign promising to "clamp down on puppy farms". It seems this promise was empty.