Unfortunately, Invisible Fencing doesn't prevent anyone - human or animal - from crossing into a yard so protected. A child might think twice about opening a gate to enter a yard fenced by "visible" material, but most won't think at all before stepping a few feet onto someone's grass. Most folks might think twice about crossing a whole lawn to enter someone's backyard, but who thinks about stepping one or two feet off a sidewalk?

So yesterday afternoon, on the way home from school, one of the children in the neighbourhood who knew the dog well stopped to say 'hello'. He walked onto the grass to greet the dog. He was accompanied by a girl who adores dogs and she, too, walked into the yard to greet the dog. Then, the girl bent down to kiss the dog. And the dog bit her, tearing her lip badly.

The girl's mother called the police and an ambulance. One of the policeman saw the girl covered in blood while her mother screamed "That dog tore her face off". The police then went to the house where the dog lived. The dog was protective of his property, knew he had done something wrong and also knew the police were acting in a threatening manner. He growled and menacingly charged the police; but never ever crossed the boundary of his yard.

He was standing in the middle of the yard when the policeman shot him. Shortly after, the young teenaged girl who lived there realized something was going on and opened her front door only to find the dog's body with police cars in the street and police standing in the road.

You could say that no one should ever approach a dog they don't know. That no one should ever put their face close to a dog they don't know well. That no one should ever enter another person's yard without their express permission and in the owner's presence.

You can argue that the police should have waited for Animal Control. You can argue that the dog was a Mastiff mix, that the police considered it a bulldog and dangerous. You can argue, as do the neighbours who knew the dog well, that the dog was actually just a big loveable teddy bear of a dog. You could argue that the dog was large, looked mean and threatening, as large dogs frequently do. You could even argue that Invisible Fences don't always work - as the police believe happened in this case. However, my husband was working outside and saw the children inside the yard.

Each of those arguments have some truth to them. But what you can't argue with is that Invisible Fencing is basically no protection at all, especially when it is run up to your property lines. It doesn't protect your dog from animals entering the yard. It doesn't protect your dog from humans entering the yard. It leaves your dog to do the protecting. And while that little girl, now awaiting plastic surgery, might have petted a dog through a "real" fence and still been bitten, it is doubtful that it would have been her face that was damaged. It is also doubtful that the police would have felt they needed to shoot the dog on the spot if it had been contained by a "visible" fence.