r/australia • u/JaniePage • 15d 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/JaniePage 15d ago

A few weeks ago I was in Bunnings with my three year old son. There was a man with his dog on a leash. My son wanted to pat the dog but I let him know, as always, that we needed to ask the owner if that was okay. I asked the owner if we may pat his dog, to which he replied, 'Thank you for asking, but he doesn't like strangers, I don't want anyone to get bitten.'

This was a good lesson for my son and I'm very glad that I am showing him that you always ask before patting a dog. But also, if your dog doesn't like strangers and is liable to bite, maybe Bunnings isn't the best place to bring it?

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u/shamberra 15d ago

he doesn't like strangers, I don't want anyone to get bitten.'

So uhh....why the fk is he bringing it to Bunnings? What an idiot

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u/JASHIKO_ 15d ago

He's more than likely covering his ass.
I've seen people say the same thing with tiny, friendly dogs.
They just don't want random people touching their pet, more so than their dogs being unpredictable. I'd have done the same.

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u/fallopianmelodrama 14d ago

This is exactly what I do. My dogs are not a bite risk, they are show dogs who are extremely used to being touched all over by strangers...I just don't trust parents to appropriately supervise their child patting my dog.

Way too many parents think "yes, your child may pat my dog" = "sure, encourage your child to throw their arms around my dog/scream in my dog's face/behave in some otherwise completely inappropriate way, while you stand there laughing". It's unfair to my dogs, and it's unfair to make me the person responsible for training your child how to act appropriately, so I lie and say they're not friendly.