Last week was a baptism of fire as I took over online duties from Carol Martindale.
After 15 years on the Sports Desk, I was looking forward to the new challenge, but never expected a week such as that.
Shootings, murder, a car chase with the police, automatic teller machine (ATM) robberies and the seizure of AK 47s and ammunition, it seemed as though everything came to a head.
I look forward to hearing from you as we continue to tweak and refine our online product. Comments, no matter how harsh, tell us what you are thinking and what you want to see in our publications. It can only make us better as we strive to bring you the news as it happens.
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In the midst of all the crime, including the killing of entertainer Irvin Fatman Weekes, one story which really touched the hearts of Barbadians was the attack on 11-year-old Zende Clarke by a Rottweiler in St James.
Here’s what readers had to say.
• Lisa G. White: We are quick to blame the dogs for attacking, but no doubt these dogs have been teased by kids and adults and have had rocks thrown at them too. There is always another side to the story.
• Kevin Anderson: Don’t blame the breed, people. Blame the irresponsible owners of the animal for not only keeping an animal that they obviously have no control over, but also for failing to adequately secure it. Any dog could be dangerous if not properly socialized.
• Mary Ifill: This nonsense needs to stop. Thank God he was rescued. My siblings and I were chased by dogs in that same area about two years ago . . . . [People] seem to value their dogs’ freedom more than the innocent people’s lives.
• George Cooke: He could have been killed. The dog needs putting down and the owner charged criminally, followed by a suit for compensation.
• Joerg Roterberg: I walk my dog every morning. My dog is chipped, tagged and on a leash although he is well trained. I walk in a very “respectable” neighbourhood in St James. I have been attacked seven times by dogs whose owners just “forgot to close the door” or “the kids left the gate open, you know; they do not understand . . . .”
• Nicholas Mayers: Round and around we go. Doesn’t this sound like a repeat? And what has happened since the last case? Nothing! So expect nothing to come out of this from the authorities.
