The problem with Britain’s dog obsession | Letters

Readers respond to Emine Saner’s article about the ubiquity of pooches in public spaces

Your article on dogs was uncannily timely (‘She compared her dachshund to my newborn baby’: should you be able to take your dog everywhere?, 19 May). I have had a phobia of dogs since childhood and can’t get past an unleashed dog. This causes me a problem every couple of years, but in the last week I’ve twice been inconvenienced by thoughtless owners who don’t see the need for a lead while walking dogs on public highways.

The first time I was trapped in a restaurant until the staff managed to persuade the owner to move (my panic attack alerted them to the problem), and a day or two later it was a market stallholder who was letting a dog run loose. The dog was jumping up at passersby and investigating the occupants of passing pushchairs. A kindly passerby noticed me crying and came to help.