Feb2012_LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
1. re Dog Ownership responsibilities.
2. re Neighbourliness and living in sync with our community.
3. THANK YOU from Di at Dayboro Vet Surgery.
4. THANK YOU from Glenn and Kathy LKemon, Emerald.
1. Dear Editor,
I recently read with interest the issue raised by Bob Millar in “Millars Mailbag” regarding the importance of dog owners ensuring that their dogs are under control at all times. He emphasized that dogs should not be allowed to roam free, possibly endangering motorists or the general public.
The issue of dog owners being responsible for their pets though is much broader than Bob highlights in his Mailbag. I have become increasingly concerned that many dog owners, even some of those who do make sure that their pets are always walked on a lead; do not seem to accept that they have a responsibility to clean up after their animals. I regularly walk the streets around Dayboro with my dog and I am always careful to carry plastic bags with me in the event that the dog needs to go to the toilet.
Dayboro is a country town visited by many outsiders throughout the week and especially at weekends; the site of our footpaths and verges littered with dog mess is hardly welcoming. Even away from the town centre dog owners should still exercise the same level of care to clean up after their pets. Dog excrement in any public place is a health hazard, especially for children (Toxocariasis – look it up) and can cause blindness.
Whilst I raise this issue in the hope that it will encourage more dog owners to do the right thing, I will also be forwarding this letter to Bob as I feel the Council should do more, in the Town Centre at least, to remind dog owners of their obligation and responsibility through notices, maybe even providing convenient plastic bags in the event that dog walkers still fail to carry them.
There are lots of dog owners who do the right thing but as always there are others who don’t. If you can’t be responsible for your dog then don’t have one.
(Name and Address Withheld)
2. Dear Editor,
It’s a sad fact that the concepts of neighbourliness and living in sync with our community and environment seem to be lost in some quarters of Dayboro’s outlying areas.
The attractions of moving from suburban living to acreage life are many, though the idyllic perception is sometimes an unrealistic expectation. Many of the surrounding blocks are over 40 acres and many of our neighbours run cattle – always have. They have dogs – always have. The majority of the time, the animals are quiet and stay within their property. Sometimes, dogs take to barking and to wandering. Sometimes, cattle get out due to a remote fence coming down or through sheer determination, usually when a herd leader gets hell bent on the idea that the grass is greener on the other side. It can get a little noisy during some periods, when heifers persistently call to or for their calves. But hey, this is the country, right?!
There’s rarely been a dog, cow or neighbour issue that hasn’t been solved by talking it over with the neighbour concerned. Yet in recent times, it seems that it’s more preferable to phone the council, the police, the CSIRO, or in fact anybody who can be complained to, rather than going around or picking up the phone, saying, G’day and trying to work it out.
It’s a given that there is reasonable cause for complaint some of the time. It’s how it’s done that’s the problem. I’d like to think that Constant Complainers would think twice before escalating every issue into a drama and rushing off to officialdom faster than you can say ‘sue me’ (This is Dayboro, right? For a minute I thought it was New York). Maybe they would think twice about it, if they knew:
The unpleasant anonymous notes stuck to the front door and the continual anonymous complaints to council about that nuisance dog? Well the widower and his children living in that house found those notes coming home from school and work. It was very distressing for them. Being visited by council and told of each fresh anonymous complaint was a nasty experience. The little girl’s pet had to be disposed of. Maybe the end result would have been the same. It could have been handled quite differently though.
The threatening voice messages ‘move your cows or else’ left for one of the blokes whose cows got out? Well he moved as fast as he could – but not fast enough – such was the speed of escalating the matter to officialdom. That bloke recently lost his job. He’s had to sell his herd. He’ll need the money to pay the fine. He hasn’t got much to look forward to just now.
And here’s another thought: Many of these neighbours have been here a lot longer than some of us have. They’ve formed the back-bone of the quaint country town we like to call our own; they’re the ones volunteering in the Rural Fire Fighters and other community services groups. We may all want to remember that, the next time a bush fire’s licking along our property line – what’s to bet no one will be shrieking ‘trespass’ then?!!
(Name and Address Withheld)
3. Dear Editor,
THANK YOU
After almost 25 years I am leaving the Dayboro Vet Surgery, and hasn’t the district changed over those years.
The concept of buying a private practice to teach Veterinary students was unique all those years ago and the catch phrase of "hands on teaching and problem based learning" still holds true today. Of the 35 plus dairies we had in the valley we now only have 3 left and the "city dwellers" are coming out in their hundreds just to see cows in paddocks, and enjoy the rural lifestyle.
Well the journey has been a privilege, and I will miss the animals and clients, a lot of whom have been become like family. Most of all I will miss the wonderful team I work with, they are truly the most caring and dedicated bunch with just the right amount of wicked humour. So to all who have, at times, joined me on the roller coaster ride at the vets. Thanks for sharing the love, grief, good times and bad, it’s been quite a ride.
Di .
4. Dear Editor,
THANK YOU
To Keith and Lynne Steel and friends of Dayboro,
A very sincere thank you to, Keith and Lynne, for their hospitality over the past five weeks or so, during a time of need.
My wife was diagnosed with breast cancer and during this time she required two bouts of surgery. Recovery time was spent at Keith and Lynne’s home in Dayboro. The role models, in which Keith and Lynne play in this wonderful community is second to none. The support from both, people known to us, was overwhelming.
Keith and Lynne, we are forever in debt for what you both have done for Kathy and I. We would like to express our sincere gratitude to you both.
Many thanks to Ernie Steel, Friends and Staff of Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital.
Kind regards,
Glenn and Kathy Lemon, Emerald, QLD.
P.S. Lynne thanks for the wonderful food (We will be joining Jenny Craig when we get home) lol.
