Attacks are not the dogs’ fault
9:27am Friday 25th January 2008
Sir - So much is being said about all our "dangerous dogs" by so many people who, quite frankly, haven't the first idea what they are talking about.
The latest awful things that have happened concerning these "dangerous dogs" are attacking and killing one lovely little baby and biting a little girl on the face resulting in a beautiful animal put down.
I have, until recently, had lots of dealings with the particular "guilty" breed of dog in question, as well as all the bull breeds such as the great dane, bullmastif, boxer etc. I have bred them, trained them, shown them etc and not once in my life have I had any trouble with any of them.
So why have these awful things happened? Simply through owners' ignorance and lack of understanding.
Jealousy is the number one thing: a lovely little baby is born and all attentions are focused on him/her; the dog who used to get all the attention and fuss suddenly gets its nose pushed out and is ignored. There are an awful lot of jealous humans who should know this complaint too.
Number two in causing a dog to react is grabbing it round its neck and giving it a good hearty cuddle, something any dog hates as any police dog handler will tell you. Never allow a child, or adult come to that, to go up to a dog and handle it. It is not the dog's fault if it reacts; the poor animal doesn't know what the stranger is about to do to it and it is only defending itself.
By all means ask the owner if you can "say hello" to it and more times than not the answer would be "yes".
Treat any dog you have at home as a friend and let him know that all is well and you will be well rewarded for it.
I enclose a photograph of one of my big dogs from years ago, (no trick photography) and you may see what I mean.
Neil Stronach, Church Lane Cottage, East Marton
Rescue thanks
Sir - As parents of one of the students rescued from Dow Cave we would like to place on record our grateful thanks to all the rescue services.
Waiting for any news, you do not appreciate the full scale of the rescue operation. From the police, fire and ambulance services to the Upper Wharfedale Fell Rescue Association. In particular, we would like to thank the volunteers of the UWFRA whose skill and experience, bravery and courage rescue many a person from the fells and underground.
They put themselves at risk to rescue others. This is very much appreciated in this household. This could have ended up differently and because it did not is down to the skill and courage of all the above.
We would also like to thank the Blue Bell at Kettlewell for the hot soup and drinks and Craven College for keeping us informed. Thank you all.
Jez and Lynette Stott, Manse Way, Sutton-in-Craven
Closed chemists
Sir - In response to your editor's note concerning the letter from Mrs Mason in the Craven Herald of January 18 2008, I felt I should write and clarify some points.
Mrs Mason's letter was rightly critical of the difficulty that now exists locally in obtaining medication on Sundays, following the closure of all Skipton pharmacies on this day of the week. She correctly points out that the nearest open pharmacy on a Sunday is in Sainsburys store in Keighley. I would echo all the sentiments made in her letter.
Unfortunately your editorial comment under the letter then went on to suggest that the duty doctor now dispenses any medication required "from the out-of-hours centre situated at Skipton General Hospital". It also states that: "The GP will carry stocks of most drugs." This is not the case, I'm afraid.
The out-of-hours centre is designed to cater for urgent medical problems that arise when GP surgeries are closed, and that will not wait until they reopen.
The out-of-hours centre thus has supplies of drugs such as antibiotics, painkillers and anti-inflammatory tablets etc to cope with these acute problems. Many patients, however, contact the out-of-hours service because they discover they have run out of important medication that they need to take regularly and need a top-up of this medication before their surgery reopens.
I could think of many examples, but I'm sure you can imagine the importance of a diabetic having supplies of their insulin, an epileptic having their medication, or a patient with glaucoma needing more eyedrops etc.
I believe this is the type of problem that faced Mrs Mason, and about which she was writing.
Thus, although the out-of-hours centre at Skipton General Hospital can cater well for acute illness and has supplies of appropriate medications for this purpose, it is not able to supply "any medication required", I'm afraid. Thus many people will face quite a journey to obtain supplies of important drugs only a pharmacy can dispense.
I believe the decision to close all Skipton pharmacies on Sundays was unwise and it is causing many people distress in obtaining supplies of important medication. I would like to see the decision reversed. I'm grateful to you for allowing me to clarify this situation.
Dr Andy Bundock, Dyneley House Surgery, Skipton * Editor's note: The note we added at the end of Mrs Mason's letter came from the information issued by the North Yorkshire and York Primary Care Trust last January, when Skipton's Sunday pharmacy service was ended. The trust has announced no change to the situation since then.
Flyers tribute
Sir - I read in the Daily Mail recently an article about a young pilot of 19 years of age who is piloting a passenger plane. The article makes out this is something unusual and prompted me to write to say I wish him well and a long and worthwhile future flying.
But have they forgotten about all the 19-year-olds who fought in the Battle of Britain and those who flew the bombers over Germany, far too many not returning?
As a wartime flyer myself, I felt I must say something in their memory.
J A Metcalfe, Neville Road, Gargrave
Historic cottages
Sir - There is a row of cottages in Skipton known as Belmont Street. The cottages date back maybe over 200 years and are shown on the Earl of Thanet map by John Wood dated 1832.
It is thought that the cottages were built around the time of the cutting of the Leeds/Liverpool canal in the late 1700s. This makes them of special historic interest.
One of the cottages recently came on the market and was sold to a local solicitors' company. Now there is a planning application submitted by yet another home rental agency to convert number 12 into their offices.
The conversion of the cottage involves removing the whole frontage and replacing this with a full shop-like frontage and removal of the old existing interior on ground and first floor levels to make open plan offices.
On January18, the planning department placed the application notice number 63/2007/8193 in the vicinity of the cottage. However, this is a little misleading as to what is actually proposed, stating: Change of use from existing dwelling to financial/professional services. On the same day, published in the Craven Herald by Craven District Council, it stated one internally illuminated fascia sign.
The cottage is in a good central location and, at a time when housing at a reasonable cost is required by many people in the Skipton area, how can the destruction of this historic cottage even be considered? To convert it into offices for a home rental agency only rubs salt into the wounds. Skipton does not need any further destruction of its heritage.
Stewart Allen, Silsden Road, Bradley
Wrong way
Sir - I was surprised to see no letters this week regarding the proposal to create a one-way system with access from Keighley Road along Cross Street and Carleton Street with an exit opposite the entrance to Tesco.
Perhaps most people missed the implications - that they will not be able to leave Tesco by Carleton Street. Most traffic takes this route toward the town centre. It works perfectly well, but is in the opposite direction to the one proposed.
Currently, traffic leaving Tesco has an unimpeded exit along Carleton Street and Cross Street and can easily turn left, joining the main flow of traffic toward the town with a clear view of oncoming vehicles and plenty of time to exit safely onto Pinder Bridge. This greatly alleviates a congestion problem where Craven Street joins Keighley Road, as traffic turning into the town centre does not have to queue with that making a right turn towards Keighley. It also negates the alternative exit at the other end of Cavendish Street onto Broughton Road, where drivers have to cross oncoming traffic with visibility reduced by the alignment of the buildings and the topography of Belmont Bridge.
What are the advantages of reversing this directional flow? So far, I have found absolutely none.
According to the proposal, traffic approaching from Keighley will be able to turn onto Cross Street to go to Tesco; a pointless option since they will already have driven past the main access road at the top of Craven Street. Why would anyone do that?
Equally, traffic from the town centre will not be able to access Cross Street as this is already deemed too dangerous a turn, requiring vehicles to cross traffic immediately over the brow of Pinder Bridge. There is already a "No Right Turn" marked on the bridge, which I observe being ignored daily. A total "No Entry" sign might have more effect and would be less ambiguous. However, these proposals will create some innocent confusion and rules of safety and common sense will be deliberately flouted, because the junction will actually be a point of entry, albeit from the opposite direction.
All traffic leaving Tesco will have to use either Craven Street onto Keighley Road or Cavendish Street onto Broughton Road. Both junctions have the potential to become "bottlenecks".
Can anyone explain the logic of these proposals? And, if not, why have our councillors not realised the impracticality and inefficiency and opposed them?
Liz Robinson, Burnside Crescent, Skipton
Where can we get a welcome?
Sir - I wonder if I could appeal for help from the many dog owners in Skipton and the surrounding area.
My partner and I have two very well-behaved miniature schnauzers. We take them (almost) everywhere with us. However, sometimes we don't always feel very welcome. Sadly, a lot of accommodation providers, shops, cafes and pubs don't want anything to do with dogs and, by extension, with their owners.
So, when we're away from home we find we can't have a cuppa in a cafe; we can't go into pubs and we probably don't have a clue where to walk the dog either. Almost inevitably, we - like so many dog owners - end up tramping the streets in all sorts of weather.
So we did our homework and set up a website that lists (literally) thousands of places that welcome dogs all over the UK. Now, two years on, www.DogFriendlyBritain attracts 40,000 dog-owning visitors every month and over two million clicks.
We want readers to tell us of pubs, cafes, restaurants, hotels, guest houses, caravan sites, or any businesses in the area that welcome dogs. Email us (listings@dogfriendlybritain.co.uk) or write to Dog Friendly Britain, PO Box 649, York, YO31 7ZL. If readers include their postal address we'll send them a full colour doggy car sticker as a thank-you. Alternatively if any readers own a dog- friendly business then we'd be delighted to give them a free advert.
If we all keep pooling our information then us dog owners need never stand out in the cold again!
Jenny Roberts, Coxwold, York