h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

In the news, a small dog has been pecked to death by a seagull. We are thinking of getting a dog, and are plagued by seagulls, so what would be minimum size of dog which could withstand a seagull peck to the cranium? It was a fractured skull and resultant brain damage which did for the poor dog, it being a Westie.

Don't fight nature. Adopt a seagull.

Anti-seagull kits for dogs - http://justinbeth.files.wordpress.com/2009/06/doggie-helmet.jpg

The gull just landed a lucky hit its not common enough to worry about.

The secret is don't let it chase seagulls particularly at nesting time. Anything perceived as a threat will be harshly dealt with. Black back gulls are very dangerous they will even take (in flight) down smaller gulls and eat them. They are hunting birds after all.

The bigger the dog the more gulls will go for it so big dogs are not the answer People are now falling victim to gulls.

A thick coat is better protection than a thick head don't go for a short hair breed.

Was it chasing gulls very probably

Another strategy could be to get a small white dog and then dress it up to look like a gull. They wont attack one of their own.

Yes they would, they're cannibalistic.

If a seagull eats your dog, well, just grin and bear it. And I say that as a dog owner and a dog lover.

One of those responsibilities which come with owning a dog is keeping an eye on it to make sure that it doesn't get hit by a car, run away, dig up the neighbours' garden, etc. - Or, indeed, get killed by a gull, but I suspect that being killed by a gull is a lot less frequent than being killed by a car.

Sometimes, maybe you won't be able to prevent it. But that's the way life is: lots of animals eat other animals. It's why our dogs eat meat.

Now David Cameron had become involved

Don't just grin and bear it. Take vengeance!

Typical, the thing's dead and along comes a Tory to kick it.

Frankly, sod the pet dog. Pet dogs are two a penny and are bred to order. Herring gulls are a species in decline. I'm with the gulls!

Here's a good thing to keep in mind. If something happens so rarely that it makes the news when it does happen, you probably don't have to worry about it happening to you.

"Dog gets hit by car" never makes the news. That's something you should worry about.

All life has intrinsic value that's greater than some stupid price tag. Dogs, in particular, are family. If some seagull kills a member of my family, I'm going to kill that seagull.

Then I'll cook it, I'll eat it, and I'll put its bones on display as a warning to the other seagulls.

...

That being said, I'm actually quite fond of seagulls. I miss them.

Not overly fond of tiny dogs. Prefer bigger dogs. The kind that need not be afraid of some puny seagull.

I know from experience that chihuahuas are fearless. They will attack rotweilers and pibbles, even after having been nearly killed in previous fights.


Yep, chihuahuas are fearless...



Or just very stupid.

I'm goin' with stupid.

>>If something happens so rarely that it makes the news when it does happen, you probably don't have to worry about it happening to you.

That only applies to a steady state problem, not to one that's on the increase. To take an extreme example*, I dare say flu had rarely been in the news during the First World War, but you certainly had cause to worry when it hit the headlines.

*I realise seagulls will never be as serious as flu.

Gulls do an excellent job of clearing up the food waste discarded by the filthy holiday makers.

"All life has intrinsic value that's greater than some stupid price tag."

I'd agree with that, and it's exactly why I'd come down on the side of the gulls. The reason people are upset about the pet dog is because it's "private property", ie, it had "some stupid price tag", in your words, attached to it. Gulls, they don't think are so important because they are just wild animals - just 'stuff' you can do what you like with.

The elephant in the room that nobody mentions, of course, is that the reason gulls are becoming more common in towns and cities is that people leave so much litter and fast food waste lying around on the streets. We've only ourselves to blame.