news, local-news, Dog attacks, Council, representative, Yass Valley, 2018, New Year

Since the beginning of 2018, there has been a spate of dog attacks in the Yass Valley, according to a representative of the council. The first of these attacks took place on January 2, when a local woman was out walking her dog at around 7:45pm. Another dog, who was off the lead, began behaving aggressively and ran at the woman and her pet, causing her to stumble and fall to the ground. She fell between her own dog and the attacker, who then bit her leg, lacerating it badly. According to police, the woman did not seek to have the offending animal put down, despite her resulting trip to the Canberra hospital. This attack was the first of several in the last two weeks, and a representative from the council stated that residents need to remain vigilant when it comes to pets and their behaviour. “People in the community need to tell Council early if there is an habitual escapee in their street,” the representative said. “We would much rather come out and discuss dog containment with a proactive owner then to be dealing with the aftermath of an attack.” The representative warned that it is in the best interests of the owners to ensure that their dogs are properly supervised and take precautions to ensure both their safety and the safety of the community. “Whilst Council staff will work with the community to prevent dogs roaming, if your dog is caught attacking a person or animal it may be declared a Dangerous Dog. “There are substantial fines for dogs attacking, in excess of $500, and very heavy costs to owning a declared Dangerous Dog.”

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