Dog Attack

[ilovemarkb]

My friends dad was walking her yorkie (on a lead) in the back alley. Another dog in the back ally came out of a back yard and attacked the the yorkie and my friends dads hand. The vet bill is already £400 !. The police said they cant they do anything and will wait until a child is attacked. Surely this cant be right???


(this has been posted twice for better response)

[pixie373]

It might depend what breed of dog it was. But i thought it was illegal anyway to have a dog out of control in a public place.

[ilovemarkb]

he thinks it was a bull mastiff but he.s not a 100% sure

[viv38]

Sadly, this is happening all too often lately and it's about time the law was changed to help innocent pets being attacked too. But after saying that, a staffie that ripped the head off a little Pomeranian in my home town is still being held by police and the owners have appeared in court and await sentencing. Maybe it depends on the severity of the attack. At the very least your friend's Dad should maybe present the owner of the vicious dog with the vet's bill, although that may be easier said than done.

[jake-the-peg]

Answered you in Law

No it's not right and you need to go back to the police show them the leaflet I linked to and if you get the same response ask to make an appointment to see a more senior officer.

They may not have enough evidence to prosecute but they can certainly investigate - at the very least I would expect them to go around there and make inquiries

You're being fobbed off

[viv38]

^ I hope he follows this advice ilovemarkb.

[ilovemarkb]

thanks I have just sent the two links to my friend xx

[jules77]

Give Ann Harpwood a ring, she will tell you what your rights are.

http://www.collielife.com/justicefordogs.html

[lcg]

no, it isn't right and the police are full of crap. he needs to report it again and make a complaint if nothing was done. the attack took place in public, therefore it is in the public interest to deal with it - see the ipcc link for more details:
http://www.ipcc.gov.uk/en/Pages/default.aspx

[lcg]

and it does not matter about the severity of injury - if a dog bites, that is enough to warrant a police investigation. in this case, both a human and canine were bitten. the police response is appalling (but i have come to expect nothing else from incompetent public services).

[bunkmoreland]

I would try to get the press involved. It's amazing what a difference even local papers can make. A trained attack dog is so unreliable,and everyone is at risk. Try your local council and MP to highlight this. Embarrassment works!