Page 3 of 9

Posted: Tue Apr 14, 2009 8:20 am
by RoyReed
Thanks for all the supportive words, guys.

Posted: Tue Apr 14, 2009 8:38 am
by sftonkin
Fiction wrote:
That's really not fair...I hope the little shit got a mouthful of carbon

It's the owner, not the dog, that deserves that.

benjai wrote:
you can shoot a dog that worries your sheep

But not one that "worries" your children. Utterly, utterly mad!

RoyReed wrote:
The way it's getting with dogs now I think it should be illegal for them to be let off the lead. I wonder how you start a campaign.

Alternatively (or additionally), to have to be muzzled in a public place -- a dog on a lead can still bite. Unfortunately, there is probably no chance of a successful campaign on this until some uncontrolled dog savages a child in a public place and the campaign can ride on the back of the brief outpouring of public horror.

Posted: Tue Apr 14, 2009 8:48 am
by RoyReed
sftonkin wrote:
Unfortunately, there is probably no chance of a successful campaign on this until some uncontrolled dog savages a child in a public place and the campaign can ride on the back of the brief outpouring of public horror.

Google dog attacks children and you'll find thousands of examples of exactly that happening.

Posted: Tue Apr 14, 2009 8:54 am
by Fungus
Roy, sorry about the kite
but you survived to fly another day, you can't reason with a dog or the type of owner that feels it necessary to own dangerous dogs :shock:

my dog and my previous dogs all spent most of their time outdoors on a lead , and with my current dog i carry a muzzle , and i will until i know he's ok

fungus :-)

Posted: Tue Apr 14, 2009 11:27 am
by Mark E Mark
Roy, I am so sorry to hear of what happened - that is certainly a very bad attack.

At least with the 'credit crunch' many of these wankers can no longer afford a dog.

Posted: Tue Apr 14, 2009 12:25 pm
by Eddie Green
Just to add my words to the others Roy. One of the things I don't miss about City living and flying is dangerous slathering animals and the dogs they can't control.

Posted: Tue Apr 14, 2009 12:39 pm
by Peter
So sorry you had this experiance Roy, just typical of people nowadays.
You need to report this to the police, not only is the dog a menace, and how it attacks your property, but the "attack" the owner made on you.
If we do nothing then they have won! Without the complaint the police don't have the satistics of these sorts of incidents to ban them.

Posted: Tue Apr 14, 2009 1:47 pm
by oldflyer
Roy

Really sorry to read about your Exile UL incident. That’s rough! Too many dog owners are highly irresponsible. We spent last week in Cornwall and, although none of my kites were damaged by dogs, one dog owner really wound me up. She allowed her dog to poo right next to where my 2 year old daughter was building sandcastles. She then refused to clear up the mess. Why do some dog owners think they have a right to allow their dogs to terrorise people, mess everywhere and destroy property?

Is there any chance that you can salvage anything from the Exile? It doesn’t look promising from the photo.

I hope happier times are ahead for you

Posted: Tue Apr 14, 2009 2:16 pm
by RoyReed
I've had two dogs piss on my kite bag on a beach in Cornwall - the owners said it was my fault for leaving the bag there. They were standing next to them with the dogs on leads when this happened.

Nothing to salvage on the Exile. The sail was destroyed and five out of the seven sticks were broken. It's in the bin now.

Posted: Tue Apr 14, 2009 2:32 pm
by misterbleepy
Very sorry to see what happened to your Exile Roy - shocking pictures

Hopefully it's replacement will not suffer the same fate.

Posted: Tue Apr 14, 2009 4:07 pm
by RoyReed
I've now had two offers of KiteQuids from two incredibly nice people (one publicly and one privately). This is really kind and generous, but I can't possibly accept, so I thank these people publicly but ask for no more donations.

And again, thank you all for your kind thoughts and comments.

Maybe anyone who feels so inclined could sign the Keep Dogs on a Lead petition.

Posted: Tue Apr 14, 2009 4:31 pm
by Andy S
Some of the regulars on the cycle-commuter forums I browse have been wearing helmet / headcams to gather evidence in case of accidents. There's a theory that making it obvious (some of them wear signs) gives drivers pause for thought and they get shown much more respect and given more space than when they don't wear cameras.

Apart from the downside of looking a bit of a dick, I wonder if a similar result could be observed by wearing a camera whilst flying. It'd also give you some hard evidence against a dog if something did happen to your kite, and as a side effect you might end up with some VF footage, although headcam shots tend to be a bit sick-making.

Posted: Tue Apr 14, 2009 4:45 pm
by Altocirrus
Roy, that’s painful to look at :-(

I’ve been lucky so far, but a lot of very close calls make me think it’s only a matter of time before I lose a kite to a dog (why do they always show an interest when I have a tip wrap?). Flying aside, I’m also sick of dogs chasing me on my bike, and having to navigate my way through the minefields of turds.

I’m not sure what the answer is. I’ll sign the petition, though the policy seems slightly unfair on those who’ve made the effort to train their dog properly. Maybe owners should carry a license, or be assessed to make sure they can handle a dog? Oh, and ban the aggressive breeds that tend to go for kites (and kids).

Posted: Tue Apr 14, 2009 5:11 pm
by Mark E Mark
have signed

Posted: Tue Apr 14, 2009 5:19 pm
by sftonkin
Altocirrus wrote:
Oh, and ban the aggressive breeds that tend to go for kites (and kids).


I think "aggressive breeds" is a bit of a myth -- the problem is irresponsible owners. Any dog can be agressive if it has either an incompetent owner or an owner that has trained it to be aggressive. Also, AIUI the dogs most responsible for people ending up in A&E are not the ones that are generally feared (vilerotters, etc) but those sodding horrid little Jack Russells.