THERE was another piece of easy savagery on the Heath. It happened at the pond nearest the corner of Highgate West Hill and Swain s Lane, a popular location for people and dogs, as I was passing the spot this week. A black Labrador dog sat staring out a p

THERE was another piece of easy savagery on the Heath. It happened at the pond nearest the corner of Highgate West Hill and Swain's Lane, a popular location for people and dogs, as I was passing the spot this week.

A black Labrador dog sat staring out a pigeon in a tree, clicking its teeth. The bird lost its nerve and flew off.

Perhaps it had been injured by the dog before I got there, for it suddenly dropped from the sky and fell on the grass.

The large dog seized the live bird in its jaws and placed it at the feet of a teenager. Her two smaller dogs seized it and ran off, biting it between them, to maul it to death and even perhaps tear it to pieces.

Besides the cruelty, what struck me was the indifference of the female teenager in charge of the three dogs.

She was carrying their leads and it was obvious she had been settled at the scene, and long aware of the dogs' behaviour.

She did not attempt to save the pigeon. Her calm expression never changed, even at the sight of the live bird in the jaws of three dogs.

To my criticism, she replied in a soft, quiet voice, 'Don't be rude,' and strolled off in no particular direction.

If I had tried to take the pigeon from the dogs, I would have made its suffering worse. Besides, they had disappeared. I reported the incident to the police.

The teenager was no hooded maniac with a pit bull. She was a slim, serene girl. A poised, middle-class female can be brutal, too.

EYE WITNESS

(name and address supplied)