With an estimated 120,000 registered and unregistered dogs in the ACT it is clear a lot of Canberrans have taken Harry S. Truman's famous advice "if you want a friend in life get a dog" to heart.
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Those numbers are, unfortunately, also reflected in Canberra's dog attack statistics with Transport Canberra and Community Services revealing it has investigated 360 attacks in the past year and, as a result, seized 124 canines.
Of these only 12 were subsequently classified as dangerous with the vast majority returned to their owners so long as their custodians were prepared to abide by more stringent controls.
Of the 10 dogs currently being held at the Canberra pound as a result of attacks at least three have been implicated in more than one incident.
Local authorities conducted 245 dog attack investigations, down from 379 in 2013-14, in 2014-15. Of these,153 attacks left people in need of hospital treatment. Only 43 infringement notices were issued.
These outcomes, which on the face of it seem surprising given Fairfax is aware of numerous attacks in which other dogs and cats were killed or savagely mauled and in which owners who came to the defence of their own pets were left with serious injuries, have led to calls for tougher laws to combat the problem.
These include requests for specific breed legislation and increased penalties for the owners of dogs found to have attacked other animals or humans.
While it is not surprising dog attack victims have responded by wanting harsher laws and tougher penalties it is an unfortunate truth legislation will not, of itself, solve this problem.
The negligence of owners, and not necessarily the inherent ferociousness of individual animals, is where the real problem lies.
Fleur Flanery, the ACT Animal Services Registrar, told Fairfax last August that about 50,000 - or almost half - of Canberra's dogs were unregistered.
Unregistered dogs are less likely to be microchipped than their counterparts and, as a result, are much harder to identify so their owners can be tracked down in the wake of an incident.
The high number of such animals across the Territory indicates many Canberrans do not take their responsibilities as dog owners seriously and are likely to pay less attention to where their pet is or what it may be doing.
This would have a flow on effect to other areas of responsibility including training, proper socialisation, immunisation and appropriate veterinary care.
Such attitudes are the inevitable outcome of our society's historically relaxed attitude towards the acquisition of pets and ongoing pet ownership.
While a significant majority of owners do try to do the right thing by their pets, other people and other animals there will always be some who fail to face up to the responsibilities that come with any companion animal.
The real challenge is to ensure those individuals act responsibly.
