Heavy dogs out of 'stile'
I never cease to be amazed by the attitude of some people, often urban dwellers new to rural life in our countryside.
They seem to think it is a gigantic public park for their personal enjoyment and not what it really is, which is a working area from which farmers, livestock owners all earn a living for themselves and their families.
I refer to the letter of July 9 from a lady in Darite, in which she criticised Caradon Council for refusing her suggestion to fit dog flaps to stiles on public footpaths. As they quite rightly pointed out, stiles are there for people to use, not dogs.
She also complained that, due to the size of her dogs, she is unable to lift them over and has to make a detour of two miles across country to rejoin the public footpath. Presumably this means she has trespassed over private land.
For this lady, who states she is an old age pensioner, to be wandering around the countryside with two dogs, each weighing nearly five stone, beggars belief. What would happen if these dogs were frightened by livestock? It would be impossible for her to hold one dog, let alone two. Here we have a tragedy just waiting to happen.
T.E. HARDY
Torpoint