I took the dogs to the woods this afternoon , and as expected , there were loads of people , many children and dogs . There is one spot which is popular with the dogs , a little sandy inlet leading to a large swimming area of the river , and I we approached , I saw " the couple " there and my heart sank . They have six dogs , three very large and boisterous Newfoundlands , two Golden Retrievers and a young Labrador , all were in the river , along with one of the owners . They are lovely dogs, but am sad to say that they tend to run riot , and given their sizes , this is no joke . I decided not to hang around as one of the Newfoundlands always makes a beeline for Nell , and as she is only 12 days post spay , I didn't want her being bothered , so we began to walk on . At this very moment, this young Newfie came flying out of the water and ran towards an elderly man walking alone , knocking him clean off his feet to the ground . I rushed over , he was conscious but very upset indeed and complaining of pain in his foot , so along with a couple of helpers , we got him to the close by bench . He didn't want any fuss, typical of older people, but I said we should call for help as he was on his own , and then it transpired that he was only one month post heart attack and this was his first venture out alone ! His colour was awful , and thankfully the paramedics came pretty quickly , and what of the offending dog owners ? They disappeared , very quickly and without even an apology . It was decided that , as his heart rate wasn't that good and his foot was swelling like a balloon , hospital was the best place , and so eventually we left him in their capable hands after ringing his family . I have his name and phone number , so will call in a day or so to see how he is , but am so bloody angry at the cowards who legged it , so angry that when I got back to the car park and saw them calmly enjoying a cup of tea at the café , I told them what I thought of them . Yes, accidents will happen , but fancy leaving the poor soul there , am spitting feathers at this x
How awful. I'd imagine they are liable for that man's healthcare costs. There are witnesses. If he's out of pocket, they really need to take responsibility. I understand accidents do happen, but the way you describe it, they were not managing the risk at all. So kind of you to care the way you do.
You were so kind poor man. Glad you had a few words with those horrid people you are my hero. Hope he's ok
What an awful couple. I hope they go away and think about what you said. So glad you and helpers were able to help the man, I do hope he's OK.
I don't see any mention of a Police report or those people's names being given to any authority? Hope the man is ok and good for you, all of you, for helping and insisting he needed medical attention. A bad incident here, years ago, was when one off leash dog in it's haste to meet up with another off leash dog knocked the second dog's owner to the ground and badly hurt her leg. So badly it, her knee, has not healed properly and she could not return to work. Both owners carried public liability insurance and both acknowledge it was a freaky accident but the end result is one dog caused a person to lose her means of employment. That's what insurance is for.
I truly hate getting cross, but it was the fact that they didn't hang around to help the man . Like I said , accidents happen, but surely accepting the consequences is all part of life ? It worries me greatly that Natural England , who own the site , will slap a ban on off lead dogs if owners don't accept responsibility , and that would be, for me, just awful as its my favourite place in the world x
It makes me so cross that so many people just don't know how to apologise. They just don't know how to deal with feeling embarrassed when something they do goes wrong. They either run away like the couple in this story or get agressive as they feel awkward and don't know how to cope with their feelings. We spend day in day out in primary schools teaching children how to cope with their feelings and solve problems and take responsibility for their actions.
Glad you were there to help him and make sure he got help. What horrible people to not even apologise or see if he was ok. Well done for telling them what you think if them x
Accidents happen, but they should have leapt to help the man and seen that he was safe. I cannot believe that they were sitting having coffee! If they had felt cowardly and disappeared as they did, I would have though they would have legged it out of the county!
How lucky you were there - and how cowardly of those owners not to check on what had happened. I hope it's taught them a lesson, but somehow I doubt it. I hope you have good news of the poor gentleman.
Oh wow that is just horrible, do they not have any conscience at all?! Shocking they could do that, disappear, and go have a coffee like nothing happened. Poor man Sounds like he may have sprained his foot badly? Bit of an unimportant aside but how did they manage their 6 dogs at the cafe!? Would have thought it would be a circus! Or did they just leave their dogs to run wild while they relaxed? I suppose I'm trying to imagine responsible people trying to manage 6 wild dogs while relaxing at a cafe, but as they aren't responsible, they probably didn't care what their dogs did.
