Dog attack on dog

janetpenfold

My dog was attacked by another dog on Thursday evening, it pinned him down trying to bite him and then as my dog tried to run away it bit him on the back of the leg. Owners did nothing just walked off. My dog has been to vets as infection set in despite our tlc and deep bruising to muscle. Presented owner with bill which he is refusing to pay and was quite abbusive on our doorstep recently, accusing us of all sorts of things. This same dog attacked ours in February not injuries this time but everyone shaken and again he walked off. I had lots of witnesses. Official/Dog Warden from our local council has already been out to see him. Have found out this dog has also attacked the postman. Do we have a good case for Small Claims Court, I'm rather alarmed at what is put on here about if you loose etc?

AylesburyDuck

If your thinking of going a court route maybe as a first port of call report the incidents to the police and get a crime number, this is obviously a dangerous dogs not controlled by the owners, their are laws these days, so hand it over to the police.

janetpenfold

Thank you for your info Aylesbury D, I found all this distressing and the site regarding Small Claims is so intimidating that I'm sure it puts a lot of people off.

pinkteapot

Look at your house insurance docs and see if you have legal cover included. If so, there'll be a helpline you can call for basic legal advice, and doing so won't affect your no claims bonus. They may be able to give you a little advice on the small claims process (I'm not sure exactly what they cover).

For a court case you will need proof that that particular dog attacked your dog. Do you have photos/video of it happening, or an independent witness? If not, bear in mind that the owner could just say it wasn't there dog and you might get stuck..?

sheramber

Have you advised the dog warden of this latest attack?

What advice has the dog warden given the owner?

Biting a person is an offence under the Dangerous Dogs Act which should have lead to a court appearance.

teddysmum

Someone I knew, mentioned that a known nasty dog had attacked and injured yet another dog (it had attacked, but not hurt, hers) and the latter's owner had approached the police.


They said they would only be interested , if a human was attacked ! What an attitude.

Sagz_2

http://doglaw.co.uk/index.php/damages-claims/ :
Damages Claims

We strongly recommend that all dog owners have insurance to cover you for third party liability claims.

If you do not have insurance cover available and you face a claim for damages caused by your dog, then (as a general rule) you will be liable if:-

The incident was due to your negligence (ie, you did something you should not have done or you failed to do something that you should have done), or
Your dog has behaved in a similar manner on a previous occasion and you were aware of it.

It would seem the owner was negligent as his dog has done this before and the logal Dog Warden could back this up.

I would report the incident to the police, and also the fact that the owner was abusive on your doorstep.

Hope you get it sorted x

catoutthebag

Sorry to hear About your dog. I guess he was bleeding?
Dogs who attack other animals and humans should be put to sleep x