Dr Katrina unleashes on annoying dog owners
Dr Katrina Warren, beloved veterinarian and television personality, took to Instagram on Monday to vent about her frustrations with irresponsible dog owners.
Shared as a caption to a photo of her with her Border Collie Chill, Dr Warren criticised owners who let their dogs run wild without leashes, writing, “I really love dogs but PLEASE PUT YOUR DOG ON A LEAD 🐶🐶🐶 Why has this become so difficult? Do people now buy a dog and forget to buy a lead?
“Your dog should be on a lead at cafes, walking on the footpath and at parks that are NOT designated off-leash. It’s for your dog's safety, as well as the safety of other dogs and people. It has become impossible for me to walk around my local area without off-leash dogs running up to us. I don't understand it - your dog may be friendly, but the dog they run up to may not be.
“And, why is it OK for your dog to be annoying to others? I've witnessed some dangerous things with fights, knocked-down tables, terrified kids and boiling coffee going all directions, as well as timid dogs and puppies being terrified. Your dog doesn’t need to “SAY HELLO" What if the other dog (or owner) doesn't want to "say hello" back? "My dog just wants to say hello" is usually the excuse people give when their dog has no recall, but why would you let your dog jump in the face of a dog on a lead that you don't know?
“It’s so dangerous and I’ve witnessed some dreadful dog fights as a result of this. Please work on your recall or just don't let them off the lead. I just want to walk my dog in peace and I know I speak for many others. I’m thankful that Chill is not a reactive dog but he has still been randomly attacked by off lead dogs on the street, and it’s not OK.
“I can’t imagine how stressful it is for people with reactive dogs who are trying to avoid dogs! Thank you for reading 🐕🦮🐩🐕🦺”
In addition, she added to the rant on Facebook, complaining about what she calls the ‘poodemic’, writing, “Finally, about the current POODEMIC - yes, dog poo is unpleasant, but you need to pick it up! If your dog does a poo on a footpath at night, it might be a shock to learn that you still need to pick it up, even if there were no witnesses!
“I know it's hard to get your head around, but I'm getting sick of giant piles of poo on the footpath waiting in the morning!”
People were thankful to Dr Warren for identifying and calling out these widespread problems, with some sharing their own horror stories of what can happen when dogs are allowed to run around off-leash. One woman wrote, “We lost our beautiful golden retriever following a dog attack just 4 weeks ago. She was being walked on lead when an off lead wandering dog attacked her out of nowhere, didn’t even see it coming.”
Another commented, “I have had my shepherd attacked by a toy poodle off lead. If he had reacted we know which dog would have got the blame. It is just wrong.”
Celebrity supporters included Megan Gale, who commented a string of clapping emoji, and Dr Danni Dusek, of Bondi Vet fame, who wrote, “I couldn’t agree more 🙌❤️ Bear is one that is reactive to certain over confident dogs that get in her face and it is so hard to avoid for this exact reason…”
Image: Dr Katrina Warren/Instagram