Cathy Dobbs: Dog regulations need careful consideration after tragedy

It’s not surprising there have been calls for stricter controls on the number of dogs each person can walk following the horrific attack in Caterham.

Last week it was shocking to hear the news that the 28-year-old Surrey woman was out walking eight dogs when she was mauled to death. The attack has highlighted the confusing regulations covering dog walking, as it seems each council sets their own limit on the number of dogs that can be walked by one person.

So, how many dogs can an individual walk in your council? It’s difficult to get an answer, as councils often don’t make the number clear on their websites. But after getting in contact with each council I discovered that Stafford Borough Council has a restriction of four dogs per person, while neighbouring Cannock Chase limits it to six. Elsewhere Walsall, Sandwell, Wolverhampton, Dudley and Telford have no restrictions.

Whether the fault was with the dog walker, the owners or the dogs is still being debated. However, since the Covid dog-buying frenzy, walkers need to think seriously about whether they can handle more than one dog, never mind eight.

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Now that everyone has had their air fryer for Christmas they are wondering what amazing things they can create for dinner. One friend says she hasn’t got a clue what to cook in hers so she just keeps making chips – it really is hampering her New Year’s diet!

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Talking of diets, the adverts are starting to appear showing before and after photos of those who have been successful on their chosen eating plan. It’s great to see the progress people have made, but what I can’t stand are those that are disgusted with their former bodies. One even put a green-faced sick emoji next to her ‘before’ photo on social media. No matter what your size, if you aren’t in great amounts of pain and if you can walk, talk, eat and laugh then you have an incredible body that is allowing you to lead a good and happy life. Others aren’t so lucky.

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When it comes to luck, we always imagine that celebrities are among the most fortunate in our society. After all, they have adoring fans, earn more money than most of us could dream of and appear to have a fun job, whether that’s kicking a football, acting on television or singing to an audience of thousands.

However, the recent death of Lisa Marie Presley has reminded us once again of how difficult it can be to manage fame, money and fortune. We often hear from celebrities how tough life can be – after all Prince Harry can’t seem to stop telling us how unhappy and trapped he felt being part of the Royal Family and in the public eye. So, it’s quite nice to think that if you are a typical average person you may actually have it easier – and could be the envy of people a thousand times richer.