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

fluffnutter

pulliptears wrote: »

People are defending dogs because ultimately its NOT the dogs fault, its the fault of the stupid OWNER.

Whether it's the fault of the dog or its owner, it's certainly not the fault of the girl, nor her parents. Children should be able to play in their own gardens without fear of badly trained pets. The responsibility lies with the owners of dogs, not the unsuspecting public.

bobhawke

I own a rottweiler, he is a big eejit and just loves a cuddle. A lot of people are scared of them and seriously misinformed.
Rottweilers are herding dogs, they're used to herd bigger / more stubborn animals that won't listen to collies. They're also used as guide dogs, police dogs and for search and rescue.
They're very intelligent (9/80 on Stanley Coren's ranking of intelligence by breed).

Rottweillers get a bad press because they look intimidating and a lot of people remember them from the movie The Omen.

Having said all that, they need to be well trained and socialised with other dogs from a young age especially because of their size and strength.
The owner should also be able to control the dog. I am always surprised at how many large dogs I see being walked by small people who don't have a hope in hell of controlling the dog if it decides to act up.

As for the OPs issue. The police should have done something more. You can put in an official complaint about the police officers. I don't know how it is for your local police but in Edinburgh if you go through their website then the complaint gets investigated thoroughly. If you phone and complain chances are you will get the duty sergeant who will take the officers side every time and just pay you lip service.

In the meantime don't let children play in the garden and get a higher / more secure fence up.

pulliptears

gregg1 wrote: »

But it wasn't the owner that bit her was it?

It was the owner who failed to properly restrain or train the dog. The dog knows no better. But surely even you dont need that explaining?

fluffnutter wrote: »

Whether it's the fault of the dog or its owner, it's certainly not the fault of the girl, nor her parents. Children should be able to play in their own gardens without fear of badly trained pets. The responsibility lies with the owners of dogs, not the unsuspecting public.

I don't see where I said it was the fault of the girl in my post. I simply stated that it ultimately wasn't the fault of the dog.

shaymenRup

magoogy wrote: »

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...

Going back to the original message.

The response from the police is not proportionate to the circumstances.
Did the police visit the neighbours and interview the owner?
This matter should be taken to court, the court may not decide to destroy the dog but could impose conditions for example the dog to be muzzled in public, on a lead in its back garden etc.
Personally I would complain about the police response, ensure the child receives medical treatment and the injuries are photographed.
I note this is a friends child , what are your friends views?

donnap83

bobhawke wrote: »

I own a rottweiler, he is a big eejit and just loves a cuddle. .

Can i have a cuddle with him?? I love Rotties!!

fluffnutter

pulliptears wrote: »

I don't see where I said it was the fault of the girl in my post. I simply stated that it ultimately wasn't the fault of the dog.

No, sorry, I quite agree. You didn't say that. I was still banging on about earlier suggestions that the child should change her behaviour rather than the dog or its owners. Your post was merely the springboard for my reiteration of an earlier point.

p00hsticks

vax2002 wrote: »

All this any dog can bite, yes it can, but I have never heard of anyone dying from a jack Russell attack, .

By coincidence , My 85 year old MIL was attacked by a jack russell a couple of weeks ago in very similar circumstances to the OP (in her sisters garden, neighbours dog jumped over the fence and bit both her legs).

She'll live, but the bites were severe - she's waiting to see if she'll need a skin graft and could be left permanently walking with a stick from now on. Even more traumatic is the mental state she's been left in, as she's now frightened to leave the house and rings up in a panic if she spots any dogs roaming loose outside.

So any breed of dog can cause serious damage....

Hermione_Granger

No, sorry, I quite agree. You didn't say that. I was still banging on about earlier suggestions that the child should change her behaviour rather than the dog or its owners. Your post was merely the springboard for my reiteration of an earlier point.

Do you honestly think that the child's parents are wrong for not allowing their kid to play in the garden knowing full well that she could be in danger from the dog?

I think everyone on this board is in full agreement that the dog's owners should be the ones to take some sort of action, but what if they don't?
If the child is allowed out in the garden to play and gets attacked again, I don't think that it will much consolation to her or her parents to know that they were in the right.

Azari

Hermione_Granger wrote: »

Do you honestly think that the child's parents are wrong for not allowing their kid to play in the garden knowing full well that she could be in danger from the dog?

No one is saying that there is anything wrong with the child being kept out of the garden on a short term basis.

Anyone suggesting that that is a permanent solution to the problem is way out of line.

The obvious and correct solution to this problem is: A Fence.

fluffnutter

Hermione_Granger wrote: »

Do you honestly think that the child's parents are wrong for not allowing their kid to play in the garden knowing full well that she could be in danger from the dog?

I think everyone on this board is in full agreement that the dog's owners should be the ones to take some sort of action, but what if they don't?
If the child is allowed out in the garden to play and gets attacked again, I don't think that it will much consolation to her or her parents to know that they were in the right.

It's a circular argument. Knowing 'full well' she's in danger can only happen after the attack.

So what do we all do? Live our lives avoiding dogs? My friend was bitten badly by a dog whilst running. Perhaps he shouldn't go out running. My sister-in-law was bitten whilst hand-delivering a letter. Perhaps she shouldn't ever do this again. A child was attacked in her own garden. Perhaps all children should stay in the house.

There's always a first time. Taking your argument to its logical conclusion we'd have to avoid all situations where we might possibly be bitten by a dog. A child should be able to play in his or her garden. If the dog next door is a danger to that child, the dog should have its freedoms curtailed, not the victim.