Judging by the comments, you’d have thought what I had done was at least illegal if not incredibly immoral. I was a ‘liar’, a ‘ginger Karen’, a ‘disgraceful low life’, an ‘attention-seeking woman who should be muzzled’ - who ‘should be ashamed of herself’.

My crime? I wrote about how I’d quite like to walk my greyhound and child in the public park near our house without being harassed by a snarling, out-of-control dog. Of course, you could make the argument that my real crime was being a woman with an opinion, judging by the fact that most of the online trolls happened to be men, but let’s not go there.

Firstly, let’s address the nasty insults. Guys, I was a geeky child with thick glasses and red hair who went to a Midlands comprehensive in the early 00s. You can chuck all the ginger jokes you like at me and it ain’t going to hurt (I’ve definitely heard worse and frankly, more creative ones before).

Plus I’ve worked for over 10 years in a male-dominated industry and come across plenty of people who think the fact that I’m a woman means I shouldn’t be doing my job. Misogyny isn’t a good look.

Read more: Postman thought he would die as dog dragged him to the ground

Being told I’m over-reacting was an interesting one. Would that commenter have said the same to the woman who reportedly hid from the XL Bullys in Stonnall after they attacked her dog? The same XL Bullys that went on to kill Ian Price?

So to the issue at hand. What is it exactly that you find so insulting about the idea of being asked to control your dogs in public places?

I wrote about this topic because XL Bullys have been in the headlines recently. But, as the original article made clear (if you’d bothered to read it), I am similarly frustrated by any owner of any breed who can’t control their dogs.

There’s been countless times when my gentle giant of a greyhound has been terrorised by snarling chihuahuas, spaniels and Yorkshire terriers (pretty sure he thinks the prey he was once trained to chase has grown teeth and is attacking back). And when I’ve asked the owners politely to control their dogs and call them off, I’m often met with the exact reaction I got online from the Bully brigade.

Fury and outrage. Intense anger that someone dared to point out that dearest Fifi isn’t beloved by everyone he meets and couldn't understand that when he was growling, he really just wanted to play.

You know the difference between that Yorkshire terrier and an XL Bully? I was actually nipped, not long ago, by a small dog. Its teeth didn’t even puncture my jeans.

If an out-of-control chihuahua or Jack Russell approaches while I’m out in the park with my son, I’ll pick him up out of the way. Dog lover that I am, I’d kick it away if I had to.

An XL Bully could kill me. Then my son. It's not a hysterical over-reaction to be scared when approached by a large, muscular dog that's snarling at you.

No one has the absolute right to act exactly how they want. If your behaviour is hurting someone else or is at risk of hurting someone else, then the role of society is to discuss how those risks can be mitigated.

Some people howled in the comments of that first article “It’s the owners, not the breed.” I agree that owners need to take more responsibility.

That sentiment was in the headline and in the Facebook sell - it was hard to miss. So, instead of resorting to crass insults, why don’t you use your time more productively. Engage with this discussion. Tell us how we, as a society, tackle the issue of irresponsible dog owners. And let’s do it before someone else is killed.

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