the law is a !!!

sanran

please move if is this is in the wrong place. last week my nephew went to his local to watch the football and a few drinks, while in the pub someone he knows slightly asked him to hold his dog while he went to the loo. my nephew obliged he held the dog by its lead and he spoke to the dog. the dog went for his face and bit his bottom lip off. he has now been in hospital and they tried to sew the lip back on, but this has not been successful so he now faces more operations.he is in his twenties. but the law can do nothing. the police have told me that because he had the dog by it lead he was incharge of it and they can do nothing to the owner or the dog. my nephew did not know the dog, he was just doing someone a favour. this dog had bitten someone else that day. now this dog is out there somewere and i dread to think if it got hold of a child. the police say they can only help if we (or they) can find out who the other person was that got bitten and they report it. I feel so angry, upset. how can the law be so stupid

Queenie

I can understand you feeling angry and upset and I'm so sorry your nephew has to go through this, poor guy!!

Not so sure I agree the law is stupid, because as you have posted, your nephew was holding the lead and deemed in control of the dog at the time.

Personally, I wouldn't hold someone else's dog and I actively discourage my children from stroking dogs they don't know either, but that's the way I was brought up I suppose.

I hope your nephew doesn't have to have too many operations and that they will be successful!

sanran

i meant the law is stupid because the police are unable to do anything about this dog. it is free to bite someone else . it bit the other person when not on a lead but they never reported it

pinkshoes

I'd say you speak to the dogs owner and try and find out who else this dog bit! They must be feeling a bit guilty, so maybe they're cooperate!

sanran

the owner of the dog has told the police that he does not have the dog anymore but the police believe the dog is staying with his mother and police told me that they have heard he is trying to sell the dog. he certainly wont tell us the name of the other person. he is also denying the dog is his

asea

out of curiosity what breed was the dog?

hope your nephew recuperates well

Queenie

sanran wrote: »

i meant the law is stupid because the police are unable to do anything about this dog. it is free to bite someone else . it bit the other person when not on a lead but they never reported it

sanran, you appear to know quite a bit about the previous alleged biting episode: the day it occured, the fact the dog wasn't on the lead when it bit, that it wasn't reported. You also appear to know quite a bit about the owner and his dogs circumstances? Maybe it won't prove too difficult to locate who was actually bitten and perhaps encourage them to report it? That would strengthen your nephews complaint too.

I know when we feel angry and frustrated we tend to lump the law and the Police under the same umbrella, but they are in fact two very different bodies. Laws are made and passed by the Government; the Police are there to uphold the law (which is made and passed by the Government!)

If the Police acted other than in accordance with the laws of the land, we'd all be up in arms, wouldn't we

As you have stated already, your nephew, clearly an "adult" or he wouldn't be in a pub anyway, made the decision to hold onto the lead of a dog he didn't know, who's owner he barely knew, and as a result of talking to the dog got injured ... and now you are left feeling angry and frustrated with the Police/law? It's all about perspective!

I have every sympathy for the fact his face has been damaged in the attack and the fact he will now undergo reconstructive surgery. Especially difficult for a male in his courting prime!

However, I do not necessarily agree that the Police or the law is to blame for what happened!

If that were my nephew, I'd be pointing out his own level of responsibility and acknowledging *his* mistakes (being too trusting/naive?) before I lay the blame for my frustrations and anger at the law or Police. We're not talking about a defenseless child here that's been attacked by this dog - we're talking about a guy old enough to be in the pub and make mature decisions.

I'm not saying it's ok for someone's dog to attack *anyone* - but, direct your anger and frustrations where the blame really lies. The dog was in your nephew's "care" at the time; a choice he made willingly. If I choose to drive someone else's car with their permission and I have an accident in it, that doesn't make it the owner of the car's fault. The responsibility lies with me and the choices I make.

Sarahjovi

Is it not possible to bring a civil action against the owner, it may be worth consulting a solilcitor or the Citizens Advice Bureau, you may at least be able to claim some compensation to pay for some decent plastic surgery!

Sarah

dook_2

Surely the issue is not the nephew or the owner but the fact that the *dog* is dangerous.
I agree that the law seems wrong in this case, just because you hold a dog means you're responsible if it bites you? If he was taunting the dog in anyway I'd agree that he was responsible but if the dog is dangerous, surely the law (made by government to protect the public) should intervene. It seems counter-intuitive to me too sanran.
Maybe advise the owner that he should take this as a hint to muzzle his dog in public and take it to training classes as it sounds like he has had a lucky escape. I hate that people will not train their dogs properly and then the dog gets put down. grrr!
Hope your nephew gets better soon x

sanran

i am only trying to say that it is the law of the land that is wrong. i am not trying to lay the blame on anyone else. the police have been done their best and its their hands that are tied.

all the facts that i stated about someone else being bit was information the police had given me. the pc that is dealing with this has told me she will do her best to try to find out where the dog is because it is dangerous.

i am sorry that some people seem to think he was stupid for doing this but as a family we are all dog lovers / owners, my nephew has worked in kennels and with dangerous dogs. but you dont expect a dangerous dog to be taken to you local pub


the dogs breed is a staffy x we are not sure what it has been x with

today i take my nephew to the hospital to find out what can be done, he has to have another operation next week as the first one has not been a success

Queenie

I certainly don't think he is "stupid"

Police can only go by evidence and a dog isn't deemed a dangerous dog (if my memory serves me correctly) until TWO reports of biting have been made.

And that's fair enough if you think about it. Suppose a dog is poorly and snaps out - doesn't make the dog "dangerous" per se.

Now, if the dog has attacked a couple of people, then yes, if reported and the evidence is there then clearly it wasn't a one off incident. But that's down to the people being bitten reporting it.

In your own instance, if you are right and the dog bites someone else who *does* report it, then it can be dealt with accordingly.

Good luck at the hospital today.