Neighbours dog attacked my son, what to do next

marlot

Person_one wrote: »

That's all well and good, but I hope you are also training the 18 month old that they mustn't try to take things a dog is holding in its mouth.

Oh yes! Amongst the other things they must never do to a dog.

milliemonster

marlot wrote: »

They might just be starting to take sensible precautions?

Perhaps locking it to make sure that nobody can leave the gate open and the dog escape?

No it was definitely a message to us to say they didn't want to talk to us, I'd told the neighbour yesterday afternoon we would talk about it later that night when my husband was home, then lo and behold as soon as hubby was home a padlock and chain appeared on the gate which has never been there before, this morning hubby has gone to work and neighbour has been out to bring his dustbin back in but hasn't replaced the padlock and chain.

No sign of the dog at all so I think its safe to say its gone, just have a huge guilt trip now!

But you know, if they'd have allowed us to go round last night to talk about muzzling, behaviour therapy etc etc, all of this could have been avoided.

owlet

Just one point - take photos of your son's injuries , if you haven't already. Yiu never know if you might need them even though the situation appears to be sorted.

milliemonster

Thank you owlet, yes I have photos on my phone

sheramber

I hope things can settle down again eventually and that your son recovers well.

Money_saving_maniac

milliemonster wrote: »

Yes the whole situation is extremely sad, I am devastated for my neighbours, and part of me feels guilty for essentially causing them added distress, I feel guilty for not 'allowing' them to keep this dog, and I have no doubt that there will be some tensions between us and our neighbours moving forward as I am sure they will blame us for putting them in this position and causing them this upset.

Yes, they will blame you. I think tensions is probably an understatement. The padlock is a very clear message to you.
Don't expect any neighbourly goodwill in the future.
It is what it is.

milliemonster

Well you couldn't be more right, things very much deteriorated on Thursday, to the point that neighbour left a very abusive voicemail message to my husband, some of which he said he hated me, hated him and hated our children, he only got rid of the dog because he though we would harm it and he had let the relevant authorities know, on top of that he then posted a lot of abusive posts on Facebook where he made himself look more and more deranged, including giving out my name, where I work and what I do etc, he made comments about how we care for our children and dogs and blatant lies saying my husband threatened them, I was very upset and had no choice but to call the police who came out on Friday and after seeing the facebook posts and listening to the voicemail warned him with being arrested and being given a harassment order if he didn't stop, they have made him remove the Facebook posts and he has apologised unreservedly through the police for all the upset, he has said he hopes in time he could meet with us for a chat and to clear the air, to be honest I don't think I can do that now after what's happened, I just want to get on with our lives and both of us keep out of each other's way.

He also said that they have approached the council to ask to move as a matter of urgency as they want their dog back, it's sad that they have blown this out of all proportion and feel they have to move but that is their choice at the end of the day.

What a week!

marlot

Wow - as you say, quite a week.

Hope your son is recovering well - mentally as well as physically.

krlyr

Terrible really - and all avoidable, I imagine, if they'd reassured you they would get a behaviourist out and muzzle train the dog. It's the least I would offer to do if my dog had bitten a child (plus thorough vet examination/tests/etc. to rule out a cause on the dog's side - the child may well have not been the trigger here if the dog had some underlying medical issues)

I'm sure you want to just move on, but I don't like the thought of them moving just to get the dog back - it sounds like a bomb waiting to go off again if they refuse to address the issue (or even accept that there is one), and another child injured. I'm hesitant to sound like I'm encouraging you to have the dog put down, but can you see if the Dogs Trust could at least reassure you that the dog wouldn't be released into their care, even if they moved?

gabriel1980

Dogs don't attack without provocation so I don't think you're getting the full story from your son.