The terrible death of five year old Ellie Simpson, who was mauled to death by a dog at New Year, was really upsetting, writes Teen Blogger Rhian.

It could just as easily have happened in my home town of Telford or anywhere else in our county for matter, though.

The thing is there are far fewer bad dogs than bad owners.

Any dog can bite, but some are dangerously powerful and if they get into the hands of irresponsible owners the results can be tragic.

If they put the owners down along with the dogs, I wonder how long it would be before problems involving “dangerous” dogs became almost unheard of?

• Rhian is the Shropshire Star’s teen blogger, speaking out on the issues that interest and effect her. Comment on Rhian’s blog by clicking here
• Our growing Blogs section now features our News Blog, Shrewsbury Town Blog, Teen Blog and Movie Blog

YOUR COMMENTS:

Yes. Rhian is quite right, there is a dog near us which left out in all weathers in a concrete yard For hours on end barking away . . . owned no doubt by a “Dog Lover”. What can be done about such people? Keep on blogging Rhian.
G.S.

These powerful, potentially dangerous dogs are specifically bred to be fierce. This dog could not be captured by police and had to be shot at the scene. He must have been in a real frenzy which was his nature, not the way he was being handled. It is true that there are good and bad owners, but surely the answer is to ban the keeping of all these dangerous dogs. The rights of potential dog owners cannot be more important than the life of a child.
Gill Parr