Article 1- Dog's bite worse than it's bark. Draft 1

Dave McGuire, 48 year old, father of two was doing his usual rounds in Portishead on the 6th of November.
McGuire, who has been a hard working postman for 15 years, had never encountered any difficult situations, until last week. Through out his career, he has heard of other postman’s close shaves and incidents’ with local canines, having to go to hospital for severe bite injuries, “I’ve always been told of other posties’ stories, how they were attacked, by dogs amongst other things, so I’d always been aware of the dangers”. McGuire did not think that the day would come when it would happen to him.
Throughout the summer McGuire noticed an increase in the number of dogs on his round. One of the houses on his rounds had gotten a dog, McGuire hadn’t thought much of it until the day came when his hand met the predator through the letter box “I can remember coming up to the door and hearing scratching. At that point I told my self to quickly post the letters and go. Unfortunately, I wasn’t quick enough”. This was Dave’s first encounter with the Rottweiler. He received no serious injuries this time round, but the incident shock him up, making him nervous for the first time in his career.
Over the passing months, Dave took measures to avoid the dog and made sure that he wouldn’t ever meet him face to face. “I would make sure my hand would never fully go into the letter box, leaving the letters slightly outside”.
Gradually, the dog grew bigger and stronger into the hunting machine that it is meant to be. Dave became increasingly more aware of it until the day the dog attacked him.
“As I was coming up the drive, I noticed that the owners were loading the car with things from inside the house, leaving the house door open”. It wasn’t until he heard the dogs aggressive barks, addressed in his direction that he realised the dog was coming at him. “He just started charging at me, I was terrified”. Despite the owners realising what was happening, the dog had ripped its way through Dave’s trousers, and fighting its way through Dave’s thigh, meaning he would have to have surgery.
“I don’t think ill ever forget this experience”. Despite receiving major injuries, he refused to seek medical assistance, showing that he really is a loyal postman. “I went straight back to work after the incidence, doing my rounds with ripped trousers, people stopping me, asking if I’m alright”.
McGuire’s laughs disguise the trauma he must feel, it is most definitely a day he will not forget, leaving him with his own story to tell to other postman.
To the public’s dismay and concern, the dog was not put down as it was seen out of character. The Rottweiler was put into isolation where it under went tests, and later decided that the dog shows no signs of attacking in the near future. Local people were outraged by this decision, saying that once a dog bites, it is only the start, and that more incidences’ such as McGuire’s will occur.
It is evident that calls for stricter laws on dangerous dogs should be reinforced