Dog owners and cyclists have a sense of absolute entitlement which can make them behave badly

NEWS AND COMMENT - UK:  In a civil case in which a cyclist is suing a dog owner for damages of £50,000, Judge Patrick Andrews attacked both parties to the civil action. He said that both dog owners and cyclists have a sense of absolute entitlement which could on occasions make them behave badly. Note: cat owners have escaped the judge's scorn! Nice one. He is right of course 😉 .

Felix the cocker spaniel who has a human caretaker with an absolute sense of entitlement according to a British judge. Photo credit: as per the image.

In the case, Carina Read's cocker spaniel was accused of knocking David Crane off his bike causing him to suffer a brain haemorrhage. David Crane was cycling on Acton Green Common in west London in 2016. Read's cocker spaniel ran into Crane's path causing him to break suddenly and fall off his bike.

In an earlier hearing Reid was found negligent in that she had failed to call Felix back as her dog ran towards a path. She is appealing the decision and the judge granted the appeal but in doing so he said:

"We all know that cyclists, whether on path, road or common, have a sense of absolute entitlement to do whatever they want to do and we all know that dog owners also have a similar sense of entitlement to do exactly what they want to do irrespective of anybody else. It's quite a conundrum".

Comment: I can endorse the judge's views on cyclists certainly. But it does not apply to all cyclists. It is that some cyclists have a sense of entitlement and they are insensitive to other road users. In fact there is a battle between cyclists and car drivers on Britain's roads.

As for dog owners, I also meet these when walking in Richmond Park, south-west London. Once again, I tend to agree with the judge. 

They allow their dogs off the lead when they shouldn't in the park. They harass deer and on occasions deer have been injured or dogs have been injured by the deer.

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On one occasion a dear was attacked by a dog, ran into the road and was hit by a car. Subsequently the deer was euthanised. The dog owner was prosecuted in the magistrates courts successfully, by the way. He was a senior executive with a sense of entitlement. And either an ignorance of the bylaws of Richmond Park or a disregard for them.

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The bylaws of Richmond Park are designed to protect deer and the park. Loose dogs often harass and chase them and it's unpleasant to see particularly so because their owners know that they're doing wrong but do nothing about it because, as the judge so wisely said, they have a sense of absolute entitlement.

Enough, but there is a similarity between the mentality of cyclists and dog owners and on this occasion the two came together to the detriment of them both.