IN answer to the recent articles denigrating dog owners, I would like to point out that not all dog owners are irresponsible. Why are all dog owners guilty until we prove ourselves innocent? A work colleague asked me the other day why all dog owners did not train their dogs. There are hundreds of dog owners that spend a lot of time, effort and money on training their dogs. Even with the best and most intensive training, an accident will occur. A responsible owner will sort it out. All dogs can be trained, but it is ongoing, all through their lives. Even the best agility trained dogs have ?off? days. There will always be a minority of dog owners that will not be responsible and an even smaller minority that train their dogs to be aggressive and vicious. Dogs are not born vicious or aggressive, they are created through ignorance or malice. We responsible dog owners understand that sheep, ponies and cattle on the moor are owned by ?someone?, and we respect that. We understand commoners? rights and loss of income. Do farmers understand that Dartmoor National Park is a public place and all that impiies? Instead of alienating responsible dog owners, ask us for our help. Please, in future, differentiate between the types of dog owners. Please don?t alienate all of us. Sheep run from almost anything and, in running, they can harm themselves. I don?t want to minimise the ?dog problems?, nor do I wish to ?drop anyone it it?; but I have seen children chasing sheep while their parents laughed; horse-riders galloping through a flock of sheep; a wind-surfer on wheels being blown across the moor regardless of terrified sheep; and scramblers having a whale of a time racing along pony tracks. What if they hit a sheep? It will surely die a low death. No matter, a dog did it. Mary Dombay A responsible dog owner
