Assaults in London involving dogs rose by 12 per cent last year, the sharpest jump in five years. This is probably why I see more and more of our young people with dogs. Some weeks we get more dogs than humans wanting to attend some of our youth sessions. They look at me with their puppy eyed faces, a real treat to behold... dog angels in the making. As I petted one the other day whilst I waited for it's 16yr old owner to return it licked me up and down my arm... I began to think how nice it was that this young lad was taking an interest in something other than himself. Then the predictable happened. Some of the other lads started hitting the dog, pushing it round and putting their hands down it's throat to try and get it to fight back... it's only 15 weeks old and the poor dog didn't understand. When it started yelping at them they all laughed and nodded as if to say good job well done.
The majority of dogs owned by young people in London seem to be used as weapons. What's funny is the treatment they give to these dogs is the same treatment that many of them have received from older people in their own life. You've got to be tough to survive round here. Beat someone up enough and eventually they fight back, they become hardened to people around them, suspicious of the world they are in and cynical about everyone they meet.
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