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A FAMILY lunch at a Port Macquarie park ended in tears when a young boy was left injured after being bitten by a dog. On Sunday March 25, Josie Sutherland took her family to Town Green for a picnic lunch which came to a quick and devastating end when her son was bitten. It has left the family traumatised. “I took my children down to Town Green for an afternoon out and while it was busy we didn’t think anything bad would end up happening,” Ms Sutherland said. “We were sitting at the tables and at the table next to us there was an adult couple with a dog who – to me – looked like it was getting a little anxious but nothing serious. “My son is on the spectrum and has a real fear of dogs so there is no way he would willingly go near one, and next minute he was in tears as the dog had nipped him.” She said that what happened afterwards was chaos. “When it initially happened there was chaos. The owners weren’t willing to take responsibility and after I confronted them they mumbled sorry and ran off and I was left to console my injured son,” she said. “We hear of dog attacks happening but don’t really expect to have it happen to you. It is devastating for me because I know how much support dogs can give to people and my son is now beyond terrified of seeing a dog.” This comes after an estimated 4000 reported dog attacks are reported in Australia each year, making it a more common than drowning deaths or road incidents. Veterinarian Dr Claire Stevens said that it is up to owners to ensure their dogs are trained and under control in public. “It is not generally in a dog’s nature to attack humans,” Dr Stevens said. “Dogs usually tend to get aggressive should they feel intimidated or threatened. “It seems we are reading about attacks almost weekly which is why it is so important to remind ourselves and our children on the correct way to approach dogs we don’t know, and how to spot if a dog is getting frustrated or angry with us.” Ms Sutherland said she doesn’t want any harm to come to the dog in question, but at the same time, she says people should not have to fear going near the animals. “Dogs are amazing creatures and I wish no harm to the dog, but I also wish no harm to my son so I think it is important that if dog owners want to take their dogs to public places they know how to control and look after them,” she said. “If your dog is not behaving take it to lessons or get it trained because they should not be allowed in public if they have the potential to hurt people.”

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