Devoted Pets

[Gagakev]

It was reported on our local news earlier that a middle aged gent was taking his two dogs, German shepards I beleive for a walk when he collasped with a medical condition.
One stayed with him licking his face, whilst the other ran home to get his wife.
They saved his life.
Nice to hear a story with a happy ending.
Kev

 

[Bigfoot]

You can always tell who your best friends are, try locking your wife and dog in the boot of your car for an hour. Guess which one will be pleased to see you when you let them out

 

[602]

Hi,

Sad story, don't read if it will upset you.

Circa 1960, a woman was walking on beach with her nephew and two German Shepherds. Boy fell over and was immediately "attacked" by the dogs. Woman was unable to pull them off, so she ran for help. When she returned with the dog's owner (the boy's father), the boy was dead. The dogs were put to sleep.
This was FRONT PAGE NEWS.
A few days later, it was reported, hidden near back of newspapers, that the boy had died of a fractured skull (Hit his head on rock when he fell?) and there were NO teeth marks.
OK, the dogs didn't know what was about to happen to them, I hope the owner cuddled them as they departed, despite his feelings. But just think of the joy of living that they missed.
602

 

[Lord Braykewynde]

Echoes of Gelert

 

[JohnGriffiths]

What a strange tale?? How was it the woman was unable to tell an real attack? How come she had no control over the dogs but they were presumably off the lead? And why did no one notice the lack of teethmark until after they had been put to sleep, I would expect a real attack by two large dogs would make quite a mess of a child. If I was the investigating officer I would be checking if the woman clubbed the boy and tried to blame the dogs. Am I just being cynical?

 

[LMH]

I don't think you are being cynical. It was the 60's. Typical kneejerk reaction.

Same as those purported fox attacks against babies/small children reported earlier on in the year. No way, I don't believe they were carried out by foxes.

lisa

 

[602]

Hi,
Dunno! I was abroad at the time. My mother reported that when she walked my German Shepherd *****, people would cross the road to avoid her. Such is the power of the Press.
More recently (2003ish) I took my two German Shepherds to the Brecon Jazz Festival, Shoulder to shouder heaving crowds. One leash went tight. I looked down to find one dog had stopped so that someone's "Grannie" could give him a cuddle. Soon after, I walked them up the high street in Tottenham. It dawned on me that I had the pavement to myself ...... everybody had taken refuge in the shops.
Sad!
602

 

[LMH]

Hi,
Dunno! I was abroad at the time. My mother reported that when she walked my German Shepherd *****, people would cross the road to avoid her. Such is the power of the Press.
More recently (2003ish) I took my two German Shepherds to the Brecon Jazz Festival, Shoulder to shouder heaving crowds. One leash went tight. I looked down to find one dog had stopped so that someone's "Grannie" could give him a cuddle. Soon after, I walked them up the high street in Tottenham. It dawned on me that I had the pavement to myself ...... everybody had taken refuge in the shops.
Sad!
602

I have the same problem here. I have one SBT and one xSBT. I was on one campsite and a small child came towrards my SBt and I and a mother came from nowhere and snatched the child up in her arms and stared at me and the dog!

Chavs and low lifes give my dog's breed a bad name.

Lisa

 

[LMH]

I had to laugh yesterday. I caught a train home and a man got on with a SBT. He was in the same carriage as me (train only had two carriages).

God, he'd got no control over it whatsoever. It was yapping, whining and barking and he just kept yelling at it. He even allowed it on the seats and THE TABLE.

After about an hour, I thought I'm going to go over and have a word. But thankfully, he got off the train before that happened. I, and I expect, all the other passengers, were glad to see the back of him and his dog.

Lisa

 

[Parksy]

Hi,

Sad story, don't read if it will upset you.

Circa 1960, a woman was walking on beach with her nephew and two German Shepherds. Boy fell over and was immediately "attacked" by the dogs. Woman was unable to pull them off, so she ran for help. When she returned with the dog's owner (the boy's father), the boy was dead. The dogs were put to sleep.
This was FRONT PAGE NEWS.
A few days later, it was reported, hidden near back of newspapers, that the boy had died of a fractured skull (Hit his head on rock when he fell?) and there were NO teeth marks.
OK, the dogs didn't know what was about to happen to them, I hope the owner cuddled them as they departed, despite his feelings. But just think of the joy of living that they missed.
602

It all looks like a typical urban myth I'm afraid

There are some obvious 'facts' which bear closer scrutiny.
'The woman was unable to pull them off' - why would she need to pull them off? There 'were NO teethmarks'
If she felt that the main priority was to pull the dogs off before trying to help the boy then she must have seen exactly what happened.
If this woman had in fact been walking on the beach with this kid who was supposed to be 'her nephew' then surely she'd have noticed if the kid suddenly keeled over and fell onto a rock with such force that he ended up with a fractured skull which proved to be fatal.
If (as seems unlikely given the inconsistencies in the tale so far) the boys father decided to have the dogs put down as a result of such circumstancial evidence I'd have imagined that he would have been grieving too much for his recently deceased young son to spare his feelings for the dogs.
Good story though, which newspaper was it in?

 

[Mel]

I have the same problem here. I have one SBT and one xSBT. I was on one campsite and a small child came towrards my SBt and I and a mother came from nowhere and snatched the child up in her arms and stared at me and the dog

Lisa

Hi Lisa, I'm sure in your case it was a prejudiced reaction to the breed, but I have to say that I have always stopped my children and grandchildren from going to a dog that they didn't know. The rule was, ask me and I will ask the owner. This was regardless of size or breed (of owner or dog

)
mel

 

[602]

Hi Parksy,
Can't ask my mother, she departed many years ago, but if it was an urban myth, she started it .... and she didn't have that sort of humour.
So 1959 or very early 1960, possibly the Mirror or Sketch, maybe something similar. Does anybody here remember the article?
602

 

[Parksy]

Hi 602
Your mother may have heard the story from someone else and passed it on. Back in the 60s there were countless urban myths doing the rounds and the public were a bit less sophisticated (or cynical depending on your viewpoint) than we are in the present day. 'Instant communication' was often via a neighbour's phone (often the local shop or pub) or a telephone box if there was one around and people just accepted what they were told at face value.
I mean no disrespect to you or your memory of your mother but the 'big,scary but ultimately gentle and innocent dog / dead child story has been around in one form or another since the legend of Prince Llywelyn's dog Gelert which was mentioned by Lord Braykewynde earlier.

 

[colin-yorkshire1]

hi all
here's one that is no urban myth a guy comes home from work and takes his dog out for a walk a labrador 4 hrs later neither he or the dog return getting worried the wife knocks on all the neibours doors and a search party is organised, the guy is found by the side of the tow path with the dog lying beside him he is dead "died of a a brain hemorrage"
after the funeral despite all efforts the dog keeps escaping and is allways found in the same place on the tow path. one day the dog got out and was never seen again.
the dogs name was Zico and the guy my uncle Ken the year was 1972.

colin