READING Liz Carran s letter ( Dogs Can be Nice , August 5), I felt compelled to add my thoughts. My husband and I wanted to give a rescue dog a loving home. However, due to his issues (he is very nervous of people and traffic) we find it increasingly diff

READING Liz Carran's letter ("Dogs Can be Nice", August 5), I felt compelled to add my thoughts.

My husband and I wanted to give a rescue dog a loving home. However, due to his issues (he is very nervous of people and traffic) we find it increasingly difficult to take him to places where we can desensitise him of his demons.

He is not unruly or vicious, he was just never socialised as a puppy. This makes him very concerned when he is taken out of his comfort zone and into an area which is unfamiliar to him. There have been many occasions where we have been turned away because there are "no dogs allowed". The little baby steps we need to take with him are thwarted at many locations. There are dog walks around in rural locations where he is perfectly behaved and happy off-lead, but they are getting increasingly difficult to find.

I do sincerely thank Huntingdonshire District Council for Hinchingbrooke Country Park. There, the majority of dog walkers are responsible. It is the minority that ruin it for the rest of us.

Turning from dogs to humans: my work involves complaints to the council. Dog barking complaints are common. I have taken calls where someone who wanted a dog shot because the barking was irritating him. He was serious. A bigot? I think so.

I ask the question: do we say that about misbehaving children or unruly teenagers that set park benches on fire and create havoc because they are irritating us? Absolutely not! Are people forced to get rid of their unruly offspring? No! Human rights would have a field day and rightly so.

Although we are supposedly at the top of intelligent species in this world (I could argue that all day), it does not mean that we have the right to obliterate so-called dumb animals because they irritate us.

Please stop picking on the dog: instead, respect it. It has adapted to an alien and often hostile environment far better than we ever could. Let's take responsibility for our mistakes. It's never the dogs fault, it's ours.

DAWN FAWKES

Mayfield

Buckden