Beach ban on dogs (2)

Allow me to explain to Eric Cordina why dogs should be banned from all beaches.

My wife and I spent a day at the beach (about six hours). During this time:

A dog thrust his head into our bag and dribbled all over the food therein.

Another dog urinated over our umbrella stand, spraying its golden liquid all over our towels and clothes.

A huge, soaking wet, Alsatian almost knocked us from our seats as it ran into us at full speed, chasing a frisbee thrown by its owner.

Our appetite for our lunch was lost when watching a small, bare footed, child step squarely into a freshly deposited mound of dog excrement.

If all the deposits had been brought together, they would have covered an eighth of the beach. The vast majority of dog owners are irresponsible and only carry a plastic bag for show - in case of wardens - and do not use it. To remonstrate with them is to invite a torrent of verbal abuse in both English and Maltese. And so, quite simply, dogs, however lovable, are an annoyance and an unacceptable health risk on a beach.