29/10/2012
David Whiteley reports on the increasing incidence of guide dogs being attacked by other dogs. Plus, the bid to give the Newmarket sausage the same status as champagne.
Every week, eight guide dogs are attacked by other dogs. Inside Out investigates this distressing story, and finds out what's being done to address the problem.
Margaret's guide dog Molly was unable to work for almost a week after being attacked by another dog. The 64- year-old was left stuck at home, relying on other people to help her do the day to day things that she normally does for herself. In the most recent attack in January this year, Margaret was heading home from Norwich City Centre when a dog jumped on nine-year-old black Labrador Molly at a bus stop. Margaret believes this attack was deliberate and said: 'A young lad came up to the side of me with a dog and let it off the lead. I heard him say 'get it' and it went for Molly's face. I tried to get this dog off her but it scratched her side and left her with a gash'.
The mother-of-two was bravely able to get Molly home on the bus and treat her wound, but was advised by dog welfare experts at Guide Dogs to give her a few days to recover. She said: 'The police told me they couldn't do anything because it was a dog on dog attack, but I told them they had to do something because Molly's a working dog. When she's hurt I can't leave the house without help from someone else.'
Margaret has two detached retinas, she is totally blind in one eye and has just 10% vision in the other. She was delighted to be paired with Molly seven years ago but after a number of incidents involving other dogs, she said the fear of another attack would make her think twice about getting another guide dog. She said: 'I'm fearful of other dogs now, not for me but for Molly, although I try not to show her. But she is definitely more wary of other dogs too. I think people need to learn to keep their dogs under control'.
Newmarket is famous for horse racing but it also has a long tradition dating back to the Victorian times for making sausages. And that tradition is hopefully to be enshrined in law. That's because the town has asked the European Union to give its sausage protected status putting them on them on same footing as Champagne, and Melton Mowbray pork pies. The decision will be made shortly and if there are no objections the Newmarket sausage will be the 50th product in the UK to be given this status. It has only come about as two warring butchers agreed to put aside their differences.
Last on
Guide dogs charity: 'Get tough on irresponsible owners'
Attacks on guide dogs by other dogs have spiralled in recent years prompting calls from the Guide Dog Association for stronger action.
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Last year, six guide dogs, which cost about 拢50,000 to train, were forced to retire because of the physical and psychological damage suffered.
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Such attacks are not necessarily a criminal offence and it can be difficult to bring prosecutions.
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The charity Guide Dogs is calling for a change in the law so that the authorities have more power to prosecute the owners of dogs involved in attacks.
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on the 大象传媒 News website.
Attacks on guide dogs
Attacks on guide dogs for the blind by other dogs have increased in recent years, with 180 incidents since 2010 according to the Guide Dogs Association.
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大象传媒 Inside Out meets Richard Wise from Coventry and Jemma Brown. Both have been subjected to attacks on their guide dogs.
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on the 大象传媒 News website.
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Hospital should 'draw line' under past Savile links
Stoke Mandeville Hospital should "draw a line" under its past links with Jimmy Savile, the daughter of a pioneering neurosurgeon has said.
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Eva Loeffler, who lives near Aldeburgh, Suffolk, said the Savile scandal had "tarnished everything".
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Her father, Paralympic Games founder Sir Ludwig Guttmann, set up its spinal injuries unit in World War II.
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Savile, a former porter at the Buckinghamshire hospital, began his charity work there in 1972.
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on the 大象传媒 News website.
Newmarket sausages granted European protected status
Sausages made in the Suffolk town of Newmarket have won protected European status.
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The sausages, which have been made to secret recipes by competing family firms in the town for more than a century, join Parma ham and Cornish pasties in gaining the status.
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on the 大象传媒 News website.
Sausages granted special status
Sausages made in Suffolk have been granted a special status which puts them alongside the likes of Parma ham, Champagne and Melton Mowbray pork pies.
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Newmarket sausages have become the 50th British food product to be awarded the Protected Geographical Indication (PGI) from the European Commission.
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It means only local companies can call their produce Newmarket sausages.
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Grant Powter, from Powters Sausages, said it would protect the "reputation and quality" of the sausages.
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on the 大象传媒 News website.
Credits
| Role | Contributor |
|---|---|
| Presenter | David Whiteley |
| Series Editor | Diana Hare |
Broadcast
- Mon 29 Oct 2012 19:30大象传媒 One East & Cambridgeshire only