Neglect is a word that comes to mind. Then again, I savour the idea of a safe community where our young ones can run around free without risk of crime; in a place where neighbours watch not for judgment and gossip, but for community. Tyra lived a long way from Sydney, a long way away from the source of mass media. I doubt that I am able to pass any judgment not having lived in a small rural centre with children; is any other capital-city dweller qualified to do so?
The media is a fickle lover. The headlines sell, the comments decide the verdict and, in this case, NSW Parliament reacted with a 'guilty before proven' regulation to declare dogs dangerous if they only appear threatening. That was 2006, when a four year old (allegedly) left unsupervised for several hours in a small town in sheep & cotton country NW of Dubbo (allegedly) climbed in an enclosure with several (alleged) pig dogs that she had (allegedly) known for years.
But now, in the first day of a coronial inquest into the child's death, one paper reported: A parent's supervision of a girl mauled to death by trained hunting dogs was "questionable," with the girl and her siblings allowed to roam the streets for extended periods, including at night.
The media is a fickle lover. The headlines sell, the comments decide the verdict and, in this case, NSW Parliament reacted with a 'guilty before proven' regulation to declare dogs dangerous if they only appear threatening. That was 2006, when a four year old (allegedly) left unsupervised for several hours in a small town in sheep & cotton country NW of Dubbo (allegedly) climbed in an enclosure with several (alleged) pig dogs that she had (allegedly) known for years.
But now, in the first day of a coronial inquest into the child's death, one paper reported: A parent's supervision of a girl mauled to death by trained hunting dogs was "questionable," with the girl and her siblings allowed to roam the streets for extended periods, including at night.
- Will we find out that an unsupervised child taunted (i.e. played) with dogs with a hose and/or a dead chicken?
- Will we find out that fencing was not 'adequate'?
- Will we find out that everyone did what was right and responsible and this was an accident - an accident and like most, painful for those involved.
