Dear Editor:

Thank you for this opportunity to express my outrage at the incident of the dog attack on the beach near James Cistern the Friday following Christmas. My heart goes out to Mrs. Gaitor who suffered the unthinkable. I’ve been afraid of dogs since I was a child because I was bitten by one and never trusted any dog since.

I’m afraid to walk the beach or even the street right in front of my house because of dogs. Dogs on the Beach and the stray dogs running unleashed in the neighborhoods on Eleuthera is a vexing problem which must be dealt with NOW. Enough of the talk, enough of the seminars and demonstrations, this must be the last time anything like this happens because we residents of this beautiful island will no longer be held hostage by DOGS. Some residents choose to let their pot cakes run around wild in the streets and occasional residents think nothing of letting their pure bred dangerous dogs run unleashed and unmuzzled on OUR beaches. Obviously with no concern for the dogs or us who want to walk freely with no fear of being attacked.

Just a few years ago, we would take leisurely walks on French Leave Beach with no concern for a dog bothering us. In the past few years, there has been such a proliferation of unleashed and unmuzzled dogs on OUR beautiful beaches that we won’t dare walk them anymore.

Something must be done and done now! I’m appealing to the powers that be to start now to bring this scourge to an end.

A note to Mr. Springer (Acting Senior Veterinary Officer-ACU)

What we need in Eleuthera is:

1. A dog Pound. (any dog found unleashed walking with or without an owner should be taken and kept until the owner gets a leash and sits through a session on the importance of the leash. They will need to pay a fee to get the dog back-if the same dog is found unleashed again it will be taken)

2. We need on island patrols from the ACU to be trained to capture stray and unleashed dogs and take them to the pound for processing.

3. We need to to have a more robust program to neuter and spay dogs that have caring owners.

Yours sincerely,
Afraid and scared to walk

Editor’s Note: Original link to Ferocious Dog Attack – December 27th, 2013 

http://www.eleutheranews.com/permalink/3729.html