first mate

Becsbex, How is Tilly this morning? Even if she seems absolutely fine please do make sure she goes to the vet. I'd also be careful about which dogs you let her interact with- you want it all to be positive, so soon after an experience like that. She may be understandably wary of pairs of dogs or of staff type dogs for a while, or she may be fine- it depends on how sensitive she is. Watch her reactions around other dogs and if you see any slight signs of discomfort ensure she is not overwhelmed by getting space from the other dog/s. However, you don't want to worry her by worrying yourself so you need to monitor the environment without being anxious. Most dogs will bouce back from one bad experience but it would be understandable if she was a bit wary for a while. If only these rotten/irresponsible dog owners could grasp the consequences of their lack of managemant of their own dogs and the possible knock-on effect of just one bad experience on another dog. I'd just like to say that even though the dogs that attacked Tilly may look like Staffs they might easily be crossbreeds. I do think certain bullbreeds have a propensity to play very roughly and that this can easily roll over into something else. Additionally, it is possible for certain types of dog, especially if they live together, to 'pack' and gang up on another dog. The final responsibility is downn to the owner. The people who own these 'staffie-type' dogs are obviously not responsible dog owners and totally at fault. They had the ability to keep those dogs on a lead and chose not to.

Becsbex, I am so sorry to hear about Tilly and thank you for letting us all know about this incident in such a measured and responsible way. I hope you don't mind me saying but if I were you I'd get her checked over by the vet anyway. Long fur can hide puncture wounds which look innocuous if you see them at all, but can obviously cause a lot of damage as well as cause bad infections. No doubt all will be well with Tilly but it's probably better to be safe than sorry. Her leg wounds could probably do with a proper clean up too. I hope that since the dog owners whose dogs did this now know what their charges are capable of that they will keep them on lead and monitor them carefully around other dogs. It is possible that someone here will know who they are.

My that sounds rather patronising. What does the 'bless' signify?

Asset, I think if you have an overload of sensibilities, so much so that they can be grated on, then that is certainly proof that you are indeed a lady. Now pass me the smelling salts.

bemused ed Yes, that seems reasonable provided the police station site also has a car park for M&S users (there would be room).

PR great. A steady 'flow' of information would be great.

I imagine the difference between a public meeting and drop in for q&a's is that in a public meeting both questions and answers go on the public record and are there for all to see; the drop-in is probably both more discreet and keeps matters discrete in that dealings are kept between Thames and individual persons. Perhaps the latter gives Thames more control over information.

On the contrary, there is an argument that all his charitable acts were merely a hugely successful smokescreen giving him much greater access to children, adolescents and institutions. Did he feel guilt? Of course, we'll never know. A priest can't tell. If he was a sociopathic personality then he probably did not have the psychological apparatus to feel guilt. The appearance is one who revelled and even gloried in his power and now, it seems, that includes the power to manipulate to deceive and get away with it. His epitaph "It was good while it lasted"

See "Soylent Green"- 1970's sci-fi flick. New York 2022 has undergone a massive population explosion- a new source of high protein food is found. It goes on the market with a convincing cover story, and everyone loves the taste, mmmmm soylent green! Anyhow,unless the bodies were harvested from natural disasters and instant death wouldn't the flesh of most of the dying be contaminated with high grade pain killers and other medicines..?

I don't think the extent of what he was up to was an open secret. Molesting a 15 year old girl in a BBC dressing room is arguably not quite the same thing as molesting a brain damaged patient, a 9 year old cub scout, or a Broadmoor inmate. Of course I'm not saying it is okay but there is deeply dogdy and then seriously depraved. It seems likely that Savile was in the latter category and was highly adept at keeping his various worlds separate. I cannot help wondering though if his ability to keep everything under wraps for so long and to be so audacious in doing so was facilitated by friends in high places with similar interests, or was he simply a 'successful' sociopath?

There's a huge Sainsbury's on Dog Kennel Hill, a smaller Sainsbury's up Lordship Lane..... surely these satisfy most requirements?

Many owners of status dogs will say they have a pit cross because it makes them look tough. A labrador x boxer could look very like a pit, as could a lab x staff. American Bulldogs share many breed traits with the pit bull and if anything are even bigger and stronger and they are not a banned breed. The whole territory is very confused. As you say, these are very powerful, drivey breeds. Just as I would not want a learner driver careering around the inner city in a Ferrari so I don't want kids or novice owners handling/owning these dogs.

Many NHS managers have had medical backgrounds whether as nurses or doctors, so I think the territory is a lot more grey than is made out. However, most doctors surgeries already seem so overloaded that I am not sure how they are going to manage this additional layer of responsibility. Who will provide the evidence base to CGS' on which they take decisions as to what treatments/interventions/drugs should and should not be made available to their client base?

Lu, I'm afraid it is rather more grey and complex. There is no overarching law, but there are bylaws which can be imposed by the council. It is the case that it is illegal for a dog to cross a public highway offlead.

After the last thread where a number of us made this very point all I can say is proof, if proof were needed. But, what a horrible way to have the point made. If the rest of us always keep our dog on a lead, no matter how well behaved it makes the irresponsible owner, like this boy, stand out like a sore thumb.

Is the ED forum the right place to target the opinions of the young? The lack of response may indicate one of two things: there are not that many youngsters who go on here, or there is a general intertia that prevents using the invitation. Getting young people to work for free is a problem area. I think proving yourself over a few weeks in order to get paid work is probably okay but can see it is open to abuse. On the other hand it is probably better for youngsters to be doing something with their time, like volunteering- it all looks better on the CV...surely?

BB, Indeed. The comfort that pet dogs give to folk is enormous, in particular the elderly. The amount of strangers who will simply stop and chat when you have a dog out with you is always striking. So have to disagree with the OP, with responsible ownership dogs are almost always worth it and actually have an important role to play in the lives of many.

CB, Even the most well behaved and biddable dog can have an off day. I am passionate about the offlead issue as I think it is a simple measure that could make those who dislike dogs feel more confortable walking around, it would help people with problem dogs feel more confident too and it might make the life of the status dog owner a little more difficult in that they would not so easily get away with trotting their dog offlead around the streets. I have known of a quite a few dogs and people that have been badly scared or attacked by dogs offlead. For the owner who has the perfectly behaved dog that will always come to heel no matter what, that is great and full marks to them, but is it such a big ask to get them to comply with onlead bylaws, with a view to setting an example to those whose dogs are not so reliable, but who still insist on them being offlead everywhere?

Bottom line, had the rottie been on a lead, as it should have, there would not have been a problem. Every time someone walks a dog offlead on the streets, even if it is the most well behaved and placid dog in the world, they add to the problem by example. Most dogs also hate to be approached on the lead by a dog that is off. It is good practice to stop your dog doing this, whether on the street or in the park.

Otto, I imagine it is all about setting a precedent, because even if yours were allowed to go ahead and was screened and green, as you say, it would probably open up the territory for much less neighbour-friendly developments. . I have to say that I think the skyline is being increasingly ruined by the number of appalling loft conversions that have been passed- stalinist mock-slate obelisks, atop humble terrace houses.

I think of all those narrow misses with crazy car drivers, mobiles clutched to their ears, whizzing at breakneck speed along residential streets, immune it seems to speed cameras or the not so long arm of the law. The system isn't working.

Beagles: very lovable, rambunctious and sweet tempered pets but, as you say, live for their noses and scents and recall can be very difficult, if not impossible. Can also be quite noisy as they like to give voice and do not like to be left alone as they are a pack dog.They are a tough little breed, developed to work, so a couch potatoe life is not for them. They are also very greedy. If you wnat to do lots of walking, are prepared to do lots of training and to take your dog pretty much wherever you go then this could be the breed for you. There is a Beagle welfare and you could check out the rescue pages. Be warned they do end up in rescue as families find they cannot cope with the breed traits. There is a Beagle cross looking for a home at Foal Farm in Biggin Hill (Zeus), check him out. He's a cross Beagle/springer spaniel or collie and a very handome lad- though will need work, see http://www.foalfarm.org.uk/dogs/list_dogs/page:6

Robin, given your interest in the M&S application, what would your current take on CPZ on the roads surrounding the proposed application be? It is moot, but many can stump up a good argument that demand for parking will increase if this application gets the thumbs up. Would you be pro or anti CPZ?

Okay, you wnat the brand, but the subject really under debate is the detail of the application- the brand, in that sense, is slightly peripheral, and will not be the subject of the planning meeting or objections to the application.

rch, Great to know that you'll be attending the planning sub-committee as a resident- on that basis are you able to reveal whether you are for or against the current application? As I said earlier, the applicant possibly has the advantage in that they can hire planning expertise to represent their interests- many local residents do not have that knowledge, or indeed, the time to acquire it. Given that planning is your passion and that you are also a local resident, I am hoping that you are minded to express the very real and fair objections that immediately local residents have to this application.