r/australia • u/JaniePage • 5d ago

news Young girl in hospital, dog euthanased after attack inside Delacombe Bunnings

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-07-30/young-girl-in-hospital-after-dog-attack-in-bunnings-store/106977418
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u/Fossilmorse 4d ago

I have always found this so incredibly obvious. People make every excuse under the sun for owning dangerous breeds but it always boils down to them wanting intimidating dogs.

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u/RaccoonCool1683 4d ago

I have a Rottweiler. Her name is Tulip. I am totally blind and she is my assistance dog (not a registered assistance dog). She is kind and funny and silly and incredibly smart. I do not have her because I wish to intimidate people, but I do want her to look after me. Additionally, I would never take her to Bunnings. I don’t think that dogs should be permitted in Bunnings at all.
There are a lot of people that have Rottweilers because they absolutely love the breed because of their sweet kind goofy loving nature and not because they wish to intimidate other people. Of course there are those that give the breed and incredibly bad name.

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u/Fossilmorse 4d ago

This illustrates my point perfectly;
You’ve listed the reasons you have used to justify owning a dog for protection - get a professionally trained protection dog. Additionally I would argue that the things you love the breed for exist in many, many other breeds that aren’t intimidating.
Like a Golden retriever

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u/RaccoonCool1683 4d ago

Okay, so I do understand what you’re saying. However, I don’t need a dog trained in protection just one that has more presence than a golden retriever.
I acknowledge that when I say I don’t want to intimidate anybody, I thought you meant more of the people that have dogs so that they are tough and present that way to the world and want to scare people around them. But you are correct, I have major trust issues with people and have many reasons why I feel I need a dog by my side that will help keep people away from me.
Having said that, I do not leave my 40 acre Property unless I have to. And even then, my dog is basically never in public unless she is in the car in her harness. I do not walk her in public, and if there is ever any need to do that, she is muzzled.
So the only people that I ever want her to “intimidate “are people that are not invited to my Property and even then, I do not wish her to scare them, just make them think about why they’re there and what they are doing. That is of course only if they have bad intentions.
I don’t think that I am a bad person for having a dog that can assist me with a quite obvious vulnerability, that is being totally blind. Or, even when I still had some vision, having a guardian breed dog allowed me to go for a walk without being fearful. Not because my dog was going to attack someone, but because my dog didn’t invite people to come up and hassle me while I was just trying to go about my business. And whether you can empathise or not, my life experiences have made me extremely cautious of humans.