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Will dog have to be pts?

14 replies

MrsMoon76 · 12/07/2014 19:20

I hope someone can advise us as we are all very upset. DM has a 13 year old dog who is a much loved family pet. We are all mad about him. He bit a very small child yesterday.

Basically a family friend visited with her 2 year old child. The child accidently kicked the dog who growled at him, got up and went and sat next to my mum. The friend then went and sat down on the other side of the dog with the child in her arms and allowed the child to put his face up to the dog who snapped at the little one and bit his face. Poor little one and his mum got a terrible shock and the skin was punctured. No stitches required luckily. The family friend and her husband now want the dog put down and have mentioned compensation.

Thing is, whilst I understand they are angry and upset, they are totally blaming my mum for the incident even though she always warns everyone (I have heard her) to not bother the dog. He has never done this before. I feel that the blame is 50/50 and that having him pts is not fair. They have called the police and made a complaint.

So far mum has found a dog behaviourist in the area and left a message, she is going to buy a muzzle for when/if there are children around and is going to look at getting a crate for him. Obviously this may not be enough? Help and advise appreciated.

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BeerTricksPotter · 12/07/2014 19:26

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MitchellMummy · 12/07/2014 19:30

I believe the child's mother is the one at fault, BUT I'm not a solicitor ... worth calling Trevor Cooper THINK it may be doglaw.co.uk. Definitely keep the dog away from people/children in future. When we have kids here I lock the dogs in another room. I find that kids can wind up the dogs too easily. Good luck.

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Bowlersarm · 12/07/2014 19:35

I find this so sad.

I'm not sure, it seems such a grey area. But your mother needs to fight it all the way. The friendship has to end sadly, either way, I couldn't be friends with someone who's child irritated my dog to the extent it snapped and then they insisted it was killed.

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HarrietSchulenberg · 12/07/2014 19:37

In short, no. Your mum warned the visitor and the visitor ignored the warning. Your mum removed the dog and the visitor followed the dog. The attack was provoked. Your mum is following good ideas by using a muzzle and a crate, but the other mother needs to make sure that she and her child learn how to behave around animals.

Our dog bit ds3 (7 so should know better) on the face recently. This was because ds3 put his face next to the hot, tired, sleeping dog and yelled "GOODNIGHT DOGGY" in his face. Dog woke up, barked and bit ds3 on the face. This led to 2 nights in hospital, GA and stitches.

The hospital quizzed me about the dog and about the steps we would take to prevent this happening again. Dog is now muzzled when roaming free around ds3, and also has a very large dog crate that he willingly goes in to get away from ds3's attentions. At no point did the hospital suggest that the dog was dangerous or be PTS, but they did want to know his breed and the steps we would take to keep ds3 safe.

I took dog to visit the vet and the vet spent some time with him. He's also been seen by local dog trainers/behaviourists, and none of these professionals believe him to be dangerous. For peace of mind I'd get your mum and dog to meet with similar people - having 3 professionals tell me the same thing (which I already knew in my gut), made me happy that I was doing the right thing by keeping the dog and not rehoming him, which is what ex-H demanded that I do. Dses also got a say in the choice to keep or rehome as obviously this affects them too, and their unanimous decision was that Dog stays. Ds3 also received some training from the vet about being safe around animals, which he is now following very well.

It's upsetting and traumatic when this happens, but on this occasion it was not the dog's fault. If the other mother wishes to make a complaint about the dog, make sure you've got the behaviourist's and vet's reports written down to use as evidence.

HTH

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MrsMoon76 · 12/07/2014 19:52

Thank you all so much for the quick replies and the information. I did wonder if you would all say we were being selfish. The dog is a westie and is known at this stage as "the grumpy old man". In our family we (including children) leave him be unless he wants attention. He is old, slow and likes his space from all but my mum who he is devoted to. DM is recovering from lung cancer and he has been with her all the way.

DH has done some research and found that the police can't just take him and would need a court order - and we want to ensure that we do everything we can to show that we are taking steps. The awful thing is that my DB who is best friends with the couple phoned me to try and get me to persuade DM to have him pts. I am refusing to do that and will do my best to help mum here.

The family friends btw are distant cousins also - this is probably going to cause a rift. I understand their distress but refusing to take any blame and putting it all on my mum is out of order imo. I would be very close to the wife in this but if they push for compensation I will be done with her.

I just want to make sure we don't miss anything.

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BeerTricksPotter · 12/07/2014 19:56

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MrsMoon76 · 12/07/2014 19:57

Oh, we have found dogslaw online and I have sent a link to mum. I have also told her to check her pet and house insurance.

I had sort of expected the police at this stage though but they haven't made contact?

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Scuttlebutter · 13/07/2014 00:22

Like previous posters, I would endorse your mum getting on to the DogLaw website as a matter of urgency and if necessary giving Trevor Cooper a call. I believe he has an emergency number for these sorts of incidents. He can give good, solid advice on what your mum should say IF the police come to visit, which may be the difference between the case going to court or not.

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Adarajames · 13/07/2014 20:25

good heavens no, its totally the mothers fault for allowing her child to harass a dog that had already warned and moved away! Fancy putting your child's face next to a dog that you've been warned about and who has already given fair warning! Utterly idiotic and to say they will be seeking compensation, well the family rift is worth losing people like that, family or no!

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MrsMoon76 · 13/07/2014 21:43

Just a small update - mum has the muzzle, is phoning the vet tomorrow and expects a call from the behaviourist.

My DB was around there today trying to talk her into having the dog pts because the parents of the child are "so angry". I will be talking to him asap about this.....

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CaptChaos · 13/07/2014 22:19

If the family friends are so angry about this, then maybe they might think in future about dog training their child. The dog had done everything it could to stop things getting worse and the child's mother decided to make things worse.

Your DM's dog should not be pts.

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SpicyPear · 13/07/2014 22:36

I agree that the dog was provoked and pts is completely uncalled for. It is not the dog's fault, it was provoked and tried to get away from the perceived threat as best as possible. However, I do think your DM needs to take some responsibility here. A warning to leave the dog alone is not good enough in my opinion. You cannot assume visitors are dog savvy. As a responsible owner you have to take further steps to keep your dog and your visitors safe. As soon as the kick and growl happened she should have spotted that the dog was uncomfortable and stepped in to make sure they were separated. That's not to say I don't agree these "friends" are pretty scummy for banging on about compensation at this stage.

I would second calling Trevor Cooper's advice line to get some pre-emptive advice on how to handle any possible complaint.

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MrsMoon76 · 13/07/2014 22:53

Hi spicypear, I do agree with you and have said here (and to dm) that it is 50/50 blame and mum does agree and wants to ensure that it doesn't happen again.

The couple have a dog of their own btw.

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SpicyPear · 13/07/2014 23:00

Really wish I was surprised but I am not at all. Dog owner and dog savvy are unfortunately not synonymous!

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