NEWS that yet another person has been bitten by a stray dog in Orange should serve as an important reminder to all dog owners that they can’t allow their dogs to simply wander the streets unrestrained.
The dog responsible for the latest attack on a young girl has not been found, despite Orange City Council rangers spending hours combing the streets of Bowen looking it.
Presumably somebody in our community knows the dog’s identity and location and it’s up to them to inform police and council of any information they have which may lead to its capture.
Orange already has a reputation as a dog attack hot spot.
Last year their were 20 dog attacks in Orange, eight of them considered serious.
In part this high number of attacks can be attributed to the high number of dog owners, however as anyone who has ever walked a dog around the streets of Orange will attest, there are plenty of unrestrained dogs in the city.
Yesterday a large labrador wandered across the intersection of Peisley and Summer streets stopping traffic, and on Thursday a massive unaccompanied mixed-breed dog loitered outside Orange Public School in Anson Street.
There’s no point becoming complacent about the sight of stray dogs wandering the streets, it’s up to all of us to be vigilant in reporting unaccompanied dog sightings to Orange City Council.
As council spokesman Nick Redmond told the Central Western Daily, the young dog attack victim would not have had to ensure such a frightening experience had the dog’s owner ensured their pet was secured behind a locked fence.
