A DOG lover is holding an event in Darlington to encourage people to stop stereotyping ‘scary’ breeds.

Darlington woman Lucy Moor is hoping her upcoming dog-meet will help those with dog phobias and challenge negative stereotypes around certain breeds.

Ms Moor changed her own mind about stereotyped ‘muscle dogs’ like Staffordshire bull terriers after adopting Scarlet, a cross-breed Rottweiler and German Shepherd.

She said: “Scarlet’s the best behaved dog ever, she’s soft as muck.

“When I walk with her in the park, people pull their kids away or even their own dogs – then I’ll see the same kids playing with other dogs.

“At first I thought it was just big dogs people were afraid of but they’ll even get scared of little ones, they think they’re ankle biters.”

Inspired by her own experiences, Ms Moor is now hosting an event in South Park with guest speaker David Davies, a specialist in canine and feline behaviour.

She hopes the event - taking place from 12pm until 3pm on Saturday, July 25 – will also help owners of negatively stereotyped breeds.

She said: “I want people to realise it’s not the dog or breed they should be afraid of.

“It’s the owner and their responsibility when it comes to any breed.”

She also hopes people who do not own dogs themselves will attend, in order to combat any fear they may have and realise they do not need to be scared of dogs.