Savage brutality is something most of us abhor, and we are all shocked when we hear of such attacks. The latest incident to shock us concerned the bloody savaging of a chihuahua-cross called Sophie by a pit bull terrier.

Many of you would have received the heart-rending story through your e-mail, and the accompanying petition to call for legislation on muzzling dangerous dogs.

The attack took place in a crowded café in The Strand, when a pit bull on a leash dashed under a table where Sophie was quietly sitting. The pit bull grabbed the chihuahua in its jaws and would not let go, until he had drained the lifeblood out of her, despite the intervention of several people.

"About 15 men and I did all we could to try and prise Sophie out of his jaws, it was impossible. This dog was intent on killing her, no matter what we did. And believe me we tried - the men were hitting the pit bull terrier with metal poles, throwing water on him and punching and kicking him, I had my hands in his mouth and still we couldn't save Sophie. It was the most horrific thing I've ever seen, and my poor little Sophie had no chance, he only let her go when she was dead."

The owner of the chihuahua, Vanessa Grech, was so traumatised by the experience that it galvanised her into starting a campaign to get killer dogs muzzled.

Ms Grech's toddler daughter was in a pushchair while the savage attack took place, and one shudders to think what would have happened if the attack had been directed at her.

Come to think of it, on a recent visit to Warsaw I did notice that all the dogs I saw being walked on a leash were muzzled.

The response to Vanessa's e-mail has been astounding, many from people who have had similar experiences. And by Friday afternoon 1,195 people had signed the petition.

Even the friend I had lunch with on Friday had two similarly nasty experiences. She lost a dog and a cat to dangerous dogs. The last brutal dog had not even been considered dangerous and she was actually feeding him when he strayed into her garden, until he savaged her cat.

Many of the people who wrote to Vanessa were traumatised by what had happened to them and upset that the dangerous dog owners seem to be untouchable.

Vanessa's story was carried in Wednesday's Times, and we also ran an online poll asking whether dangerous dogs should be muzzled. The response was strongly in favour of muzzling, with 96.12 per cent of the respondents saying Yes and only 3,88 per cent saying No.

"The authorities should take action and make sure that these dangerous dogs are muzzled... these dogs have killed other dogs and have badly injured children. We need to take action now!" one of the people I spoke to last week told me.

Doctors I spoke to also commented on the horrific injuries and the psychological damage caused to children after such attacks.

Children and adults have been attacked by such dogs, but unfortunately, no statistics are available, although St Luke's casualty department have reported such attacks to the police.

The nasty incident also opens a can of worms, because many of the dangerous dogs are bred and trained for dogfights, a subject which is rarely touched upon here.

Apparently the venues for these fights are kept secret until the last minute to avoid detection, but people in the know are aware of what is going on and are turning a blind eye.

Besides, many people have reported seeing and hearing fighting dogs kept behind bars in holes in the wall under the bastions in Valletta and Floriana.

Are they ghosts? I wonder if the authorities do not seem to know about them, but only the occasional passer-by notices them. They are not locations one would want to venture to alone even in broad daylight.

But even if the authorities want to ignore the dogfights, they cannot ignore the risk involved for children and adults on our streets.

Nationalist MP David Agius, who chairs the standing committee for the consideration of Bills, has taken a keen interest in the problem and he is meeting with Vanessa Grech tomorrow. He sees various options of how to table appropriate amendments to the current legislation and he will be consulting Minister Tonio Borg after the meeting tomorrow.

But what I cannot understand is that not only are dangerous dogs not muzzled, but also, apparently, the owning of pit bull terriers is illegal in this country.

According to legal notice 169/2001, under the heading 'Dangerous dogs', "it is illegal to possess certain types of dogs such as the pit bull terrier, the Japanese Tosa, the dog Argentino and the Fila Braziliero... If any of these dogs is introduced into Malta, the person responsible is prosecuted and the dog is seized and put down."

So how come these dogs are being seen on leashes, let alone unmuzzled, all around the island? Has there been an amendment changing this part of the notice? And what about the 'ghost' fighting dogs?

I tried to get hold of the Veterinary Division to ask them this question, but was unsuccessful.

Surfing the Web, it is extraordinary to see how many people have had similar experiences with pit bulls and other dogs, some not deemed dangerous, all over the world.

In Stouffville, Ontario, Canada, the local township passed a vicious dog bylaw in 1998 after eight-year-old Courtney Trempe was killed by a bullmastiff.

Among its provisions, dogs designated vicious:

* must be leashed and muzzled when off the owner's property

* must be fenced in when on the owner's property

* cannot be walked by anyone under 16 years old.

The bylaw defines "vicious" any dog with a history of attacking a human or another animal.

The bullmastiff sniffed Courtney, sat back, and then lunged at her neck. Courtney died from massive blood loss and asphyxiation.

The 120-pound bullmastiff was put down as a result of Courtney's death. The dog's owner, Toronto lawyer Todd Reybroek, says his bullmastiff was well trained and obedient.

He concedes that the dog had attacked a few neighbourhood dogs but it had never shown any signs of aggression towards humans. "There isn't a day goes by that I wish it didn't happen", he was quoted as saying.

According to a CBC programme, Marketplace, broadcast in 2001, a federal study revealed that trust in dogs might be misplaced.

"Most people trust the family dog, but the study suggests that trust is misplaced. The study finds dogs we know and trust are the worst offenders for bites and attacks on people.

According to the study, the most common biters are German Shepherds, Cocker Spaniels, Rottweilers and Golden Retrievers.

Other than Rottweilers, the breeds named are among the most common in Canadian homes.

"We estimate that reliably there are ... 400,000 to 500,000 bites in this country," says Emile Therien of the Canadian Safety Council, told Marketplace. "It's a major public health problem. I think a lot of people have really buried their heads in the sand and it's about time we address it."

In 1989, a pit bull attacked nine-year-old Candace Allard of Winnipeg, leaving her permanently scarred. A year later Winnipeg banned pit bulls. It was the first major Canadian city to do so.

Dog attacks are down dramatically since the city passed its bylaw. The breed most often targeted for outright bans is the pit bull. It was originally bred to fight other dogs. The pit bull has powerful jaws that lock when they clamp down on humans. The injuries can be particularly brutal.

The neighbouring cities of Kitchener and Waterloo, Ontario, also banned pit bulls after a number of incidents. The results were similar.

"I say you have to put people before dogs," Jim Ziegler, Kitchener city councillor, told Marketplace. "If there's a breed that can't be trusted, you have to get rid of that breed. And if there's a specific dog that can't be trusted, you have to get rid of the dog. And I don't care if your family loves that animal; if it's a danger to other people you have to get rid of it. It doesn't have human rights."

phansen@timesofmalta.com

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