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Action, not a ‘bag a mout’

Published:Friday | November 8, 2019 | 12:46 AM

THE EDITOR, Madam:

My then fiancée and I awoke on the morning of July 21, 2018, our wedding day, to the horrible news that her father, Whittington Cole, had earlier succumbed to wounds occasioned by vicious dogs. He had gone for a walk, shortly after midnight and was on his way back when he was attacked by a pack of dogs.

The death of Mr Cole refreshed our minds of Valerie Stephenson (July 2011), Ronica Gregory (December 2012), and Jerome Pow (February 2016), who met a similar fate.

It took the police all of 10 days to visit the scene of the attack and even longer to visit his residence. We believe that they only visited because the media reported on the incident.

The ensuing political barks were deafening, but sadly, they had no bite. Minister Audley Shaw claimed to have ordered a review of the century-old Dogs (Liability for Injury By) Act. He went further to say that the review should be fast-tracked because he did not want Mr Cole’s death to be in vain. By all indications, that seems to be the destination.

Shortly afterwards, we learned that such a review was the prerogative of the minister of local government. Alas! Sixteen months later, a few more dog attacks, fortunately, without loss of life, and the review is yet to start. Obviously, the lives of Ms Stephenson and Messrs Cole, Gregory, and Pow did not matter. They were undeserving of the right to life. As for the families left behind, the grief is almost unending.

ROBERT SILENCE