Warning to dog owners – especially in Unitas Park!

Carol Pittendrigh of Vereeniging writes:
Two weeks ago while walking my dogs they were viciously attacked by 2 pitbulls that escaped through a hole in a fence. Fortunately I wasn’t bitten, and fortunately the owner took care of my very large vet bill. Walking is my form of exercise, and even though I live on a large property, my dogs enjoy getting out and experiencing a different environment – so this is important for me & for them. My walks have now become a time of fear. I see how many people who own big dogs, often more than one, do not secure their properties. Gates are left open, fences are old, rusted and often not very high. My warning is as follows:
1) If your dog gets out and injures a person or animal – the bill is yours, and vets and doctors these days are not cheap!
2) If your dog kills, the bill is yours
3) If your dog gets out and harms me or my dogs, I will throw the book at you for pain and  trauma.
Bylaws state that a dog can legally be walked on a leash on public property, and if not , the owner is responsible. So I am in the right, you are not if your dog gets out. To the owner in Herby Taylor Street, who has a large fierce dog behind a low old wire fence – who told me that if his dog gets out it will tear mine to pieces, so I should stay home – better you beware! The unfortunate thing is once the attack has happened it can’t be undone, and it’s a truly frightening experience, so please check your gates and boundary fences and walls!