Large dogs have no place in cities

Dogs have been in the news a lot recently in Hong Kong...mostly for attacking people. In the past few days, a 27-year-old woman riding a bicycle was mauled and killed by a pack of three dogs. Last month, a 33-year-old woman was killed by a dog.

This evening, I was carrying my baby son around the neighborhood for a pre-bedtime walk. He was facing me, in a baby carrier on my chest. His tiny legs were dangling down as baby legs do. We passed a middle-aged man walking a large black dog. The dog was the same size as an adult golden retriever but neither golden nor very interested in retrieving anything. The dog was on a leash as is required in Hong Kong but any legally compliant leash in Hong Kong gives the dog free rein over the entire sidewalk.

The owner had headphones in and was clearly engrossed in whatever he was listening to and not really focusing on what his dog was doing or where he was going. As we passed, the big black dog suddenly made a 180-degree turn and bounded towards me and my son with the dog's mouth coming within inches of my son's feet. I instinctively put my arms between my son legs and the dog's mouth and tried to move backwards but my movement was constrained by a row of bushes. Thankfully, the owner likewise startled by his dog's quick change of direction was able to pull in the slack of the leash and restrain his animal. He quickly apologized and everyone continued on our way. Potential crisis averted.

Now, I have no evidence that the dog was planning to attack my son and try to bite his cute little feet off. He was probably just interested in sniffing the cute new baby to see what was going on. But by the time I would have had evidence, it would have been already too late.

I grew up with pets and I understand how much people really like their dogs. That said, there are places that are appropriate for large dogs and places that are not. The densely populated sidewalks of Hong Kong are not appropriate places for large dogs irrespective of whether or not they are on a leash. If you want to have a large dog, buy a house with enough land so that you have a safe place for your dog to go outside and play. If that's not possible for whatever reason, get a smaller dog that can't be a threat to those around you.