rottweiler attack - police useless........

magoogy

absolutely fuming - a friends little girl got attacked by a rottweiler last night - shes 3 years old and was playing in the garden making lots of noise as little ones do...her mum was sat on the bench watching her.......suddenly next doors rottweiler jumped over the fence and grabbed the girl - luckily her dad was in the kitchen with her 2 uncles doing some building work and ran out and managed to grab the little girl before the dog did any damage apart from breaking the skin - they had to really batter at the dog to get her free though.............

the police came but refuse to take the dog away, saying their little girl mustve been annoying it and its gone for her as its usually a friendly dog...........this doesnt sound right to me as arent rotweilers on the danger dog list?.......surely, if anything they should be now made to secure the dog in better so it wont be able to get out again?

any advice as to who my friend can now talk to about this would be appreciated thanks - shes a quivering wreck this morning and is saying she wants to move but, that isnt feasible - and she has a new baby due any day so, obviously she feels likes shes trapped......

thanks so much...

shaun_from_Africa

Ask your friend to visit their local police station and make an official report of the incident and ensure that they get a crime number.
Also see if she will make a statement stating that in their opinion it is only a matter of time before this happens again and next time it may end up far worse for the victim.

If there is something like this written down it may possibly help to get something done as the police may have to act if only to cover their backs.

as arent rotweilers on the danger dog list?

No. The dangerous dogs act only covers a few breeds which are generally fighting dogs and rottweilers aren't mentioned.

fluffnutter

magoogy wrote: »

the police came but refuse to take the dog away, saying their little girl mustve been annoying it and its gone for her as its usually a friendly dog...........

How do they know whether it's friendly or not?? Pursue it. A dog which, according to its owner, 'doesn't bite' is only ever a dog which 'hasn't bitten yet'.

I echo shaun's advice. Report it again and insist the police take it seriously, seek medical advice for the broken skin - dog's mouths are full of bacteria (as are our own of course!) and it's wise to at least speak to a doctor.

I'm surprised at the police's response - this kind of thing is usually dealt with properly. Take it further.

George_Michael

its usually a friendly dog

An awful lot of family dogs that end up attacking people were probably described in this manner, right up until the time they actually maimed someone.

Iris_Blue

If it's a council house then I'd get the housing officer and dog warden involved. The housing officer would look if complaints had been made already or if the fencing is adequate enough for it.

If a private house then I'd call the D.W

On my council website it says about dog wardens

Straying

"You must make sure that your dog cannot wander off your property.

If your dog strays, it might be seized and you will have to pay a fee to collect your dog.

If your dog causes damage or causes injury to a person or another animal while it is straying, you can be made liable for this damage"


Maybe worth a call to the warden, mine was very good when I walked past a neighbours house and a dog went for my pram. They usually know of the dog if its a nuisance or not ..even so no dog should be jumping over a fence to attack a child

Have they had a word with the neighbour at all?

vikingaero

If I were in your friends shoes I would definitely take the girl to the doctors if the skin has been pierced. I would then take pictures of the wounds and then hotfoot it down to the Police Station to make a formal complaint about the Police Officers and also a complaint against the owner of the dog.

Money_maker

How did the full story go? Did they leave the dog in the garden and call the police? Who returned the dog? What did the owners say? Did the police handle the dog or did the owner collect? Were they horrified?

VfM4meplse

A similar incident happened on Southend seafront just last week, I understand the child - who was saved by their grandmother -required surgery. The owner just ran off but thankfully was identified.

vikingaero wrote: »

If I were in your friends shoes I would definitely take the girl to the doctors if the skin has been pierced

I am in complete agreement, dog bites are routinely treated with antibiotics (although human bites are known to be worse).

I will never understand the attraction of rottweilers. They are just nasty and dangerous, and for some reason attract irresponsible owners.

showmethemoneyuk

• Pit Bull Terrier
• Japanese Tosa
• Dogo Argentino
• Fila Braziliero

the above are the dogs listed as banned in the uk, according to http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/HomeAndCommunity/InYourHome/AnimalsAndPets/DG_180098

• In 2009, dog attacks on people in England cost the Health Service £3.3 million.
• Estimate of 6,000 dog attacks on postmen/women each year.

Thats a sad story about your neighbour, but I believe that just about any dog can be a potential problem, especially to young children. You can bring up a dog to be very tame, but children will always be curious-even looking at a dog for too long that doesnt 'know' them, or making alot of noise nearby that the dog isnt comfortable with, can build up to an attack. I remember being bitten by a grandparents corgie (!) a few times whilst playing as a youngster, not the most potentially lethal dog, but as a youngster any dog can still do a fair amount of damage with very sharp teeth. Any dog can be dangerous, regardless of the breed. We still hear of the occassional rottweiler attack in newspapers, amongst a few others, but what about the rest? Most attacks are never shown in the newspapers unless its a similar breed that has caused harm to the very young or old. As for dogs banned through the dangerous dogs act, the idea of some dogs to be far more aggressive than others - this was mainly brought to the public by the tabloid newspapers, trying to make out that certain types of dogs were far more aggressive than others. This will always be argued about by dog lovers, with them believing that no one type of dog can be ruled out, as every dog has its own personality or is different according to the way its brought up etc. Personally I believe that most dogs that attack are the result of irresponsible owners that dont teach their dog to behave well and/or give their pet little attention, but this wont always be the case, and with a baby or very young children, there should be no room for a dog.

With the amount of attacks each year in mind it makes you wonder whether any dogs should ever be allowed as pets, but having the neighbour with the dog causes major complications unless they are constantly reported with frequent attacks. All that can really be done is for the parents to always be watching their kids whilst playing in the garden-especially at the age of 3. Some may say that is impossible, but if there is an animal next door that has caused some damage in the past, there is no excuse not to, especially if more than one parent exists. Although dogs can move fast, if the parents of that girl were in the garden and saw the dog jump over and attack before pulling her away, then she still must have been fairly close to the neighbours fence. Im sure now that she will be playing at the opposite end of that garden from now on, as far away from that dog as possible. If its a very small garden, then with that dog in mind, perhaps never playing in that garden would be the best thing, taking the child out for frequent walks to the playground instead, or similar. Either that or to risk it-perhaps it was a one off event, but if it could leap over the fence and attack once, there is a fairly high risk of it happening again, as one aggressive attack is showing off the dogs true character to anyone or anything its not comfortable being around.

fluffnutter

showmethemoneyuk wrote: »

If its a very small garden, then with that dog in mind, perhaps never playing in that garden would be the best thing

So the dog attacks the little girl and the solution is she never plays in her garden again? Hmm.

shaun_from_Africa

I will never understand the attraction of rottweilers. They are just nasty and dangerous

Any breed of dog can be potentially nasty and dangerous.
I know a few people who have rotties, and some of them are the friendliest, softest dogs you will ever meet and I would definitely trust them far more than some smaller breeds such as Jack Russells.

So the dog attacks the little girl and the solution is she never plays in her garden again? Hmm.

What's wrong with that?
If there was a proven vicious, unrestrained dog in the garden next door, and it could easily get to your kids, what would you do?
You can't possibly watch them every single moment that they are outside.