Ban blamed for pet injury

Apr 16 2008 by Dave Black, The Journal

A FURIOUS dog owner has blamed a council ban on dogs at a Northumberland beach for one of her family pets suffering a horrific injury.

Nineteen-month-old greyhound Dot fractured her right foreleg – which then had to be amputated – while running across rough moorland next to the coast at Newbiggin-by-the-Sea.

Distraught owner Ann Common, 45, used to be able to exercise Dot and her two-year-old lurcher Harry by running them along the village beach in the evenings after she finished work at an Ashington cake decorations factory.

But from March 1, Wansbeck Council banned dogs from the recharged sandy beach to keep it clean for families. The threat of a £75 fine for flouting the ban has forced Ann, who lives with self-employed husband Robert, 48, in Welfare Crescent, Newbiggin, to exercise their dogs on nearby seafront which is less accessible and leads to the moor and golf links. It was on the moor that Dot apparently stepped in a hole and broke her leg.

Ann believes her pet’s misfortune is a result of the council ban. It was imposed despite a protest petition signed by 1,000 dog owners and opposition from the Kennel Club.

Ann said: “My dogs are a greyhound and a lurcher and they have to be allowed to run while out being exercised. Since the beach ban was brought in, I have had no option but to take them to East Sea Sands, but there they can spot rabbits and run off across the moor and golf links, which is very uneven ground.

“Dot snapped her leg and could not move, so we had to lift her off the moor and take her to the vet’s in Morpeth, where the leg was amputated at the shoulder.

“I feel this is a direct result of the ban because this would not have happened on the beach, which is flat and safe. I am absolutely furious because this happened in an area where I would not exercise my dogs if they were allowed on the sands.

“I don’t see why people shouldn’t be allowed to take dogs on the beach in the evenings, because it is absolutely desolate at this time of the year.

“I feel what happened to Dot is a result of this foolish ban and plead for it to be lifted.”

A council spokesman said: “It is always regrettable to hear of an injury such as this to a pet. However, it is fair to say there are alternatives to Newbiggin beach where it is safe to exercise dogs, including the promenade, providing they are kept on leads and owners clean up after them.”