I had a very, very close shave this afternoon: in fact I’m very lucky indeed to still have my right hand. I was just going along the regents canal at a leisurely pace. I think I have said here before that it’s probably my favourite route. Despite the cloudy sky it was fairly busy. All of a sudden, a dog that I was passing in the opposite direction jumped up and bit at my right hand. It was a hell of a shock. Of course I came to an immediate halt. Fortunately the snarling beast only got my jacket sleeve, but it was within centimetres of sinking it’s teeth into my hand. I was very shocked and turned to face the dogs owner, automatically insisting that the violent animal be put down, but the cowardly bastard tried to ignore the whole incident and continued on his way.

Needless to say I’m still quite shaken up about what happened earlier. The entire episode only lasted a few seconds, but it was extremely violent. It could have been far worse, and I’m staggered that I was not injured. It could even have caused me to swerve into the canal. A few other walkers stopped to ask if I was all right having seen what happened, but there wasn’t much they could do.

This has only increased my disdain for dogs. Animals as violent as the one which attacked me today should not be allowed to exist, let alone walk around a city like London. The beast’s owner made absolutely no effort to control it. I’m not sure what breed it was, but I think it was one of the bull terriers which will hopefully soon be banned. Above all, though, I’m just relieved that I wasn’t seriously hurt.