DC was bitten by strange dog, owner has now contacted me

[Villanelle]

Yesterday my DC was bitten by a dog at the park. He was playing in the play area, went down the slide and then started running after his younger sibling, the dog came out of nowhere and started chasing him. It caught up to him and bit him on the leg and back. He was hurt (puncture wounds, bleeding and bruised) but not enough to need stitches, thankfully. It was terrifying though and could have been so much worse. It was a big dog, like a Weimaraner, and totally out of control in a children's play area, the children(!!) walking it had to drag it away.

We contacted the police but they're going to contact us again in a couple of days.
It was posted about on FB by someone who witnessed it. I didn't reply to it but somehow the owner of the dog has contacted me. They haven't apologised or anything, just given me their phone number and told me to phone them.

I want to shout at them for being so irresponsible, I'm so angry. I don't know if I should reply to them or just leave it up to the police/dog warden. I don't want to argue with them, of course, but I don't think they realise how awful the situation was?

Your poor DS, especially thinking his own dogs will bite him. I would definitely consider counselling for him while it is all still fresh.

I think the owner should be prosecuted and the dog put down. It is not safe and the owners are irresponsible. What if that had been a baby?

My chihuahua bit my then year old, thankfully only superficial cuts, we took her to walk in and they told us they would inform the police, I expected that.

I had chihuahua at vets next morning, vets couldn’t find anything wrong and thought because in his eyes it was minor damage compared to what they can do he thinks he was spooked by something.

We got a behaviourist booked for the next day to see if we could find a way through this.

Police came over within 36 hrs, really nice but firmly said the dog if he does anything like this again will have a seize and destroy order.

Only because he could see we were trying to work through the situation he was spared.

He is never never alone with her, she totally got over it within a day or so and was more upset she couldn’t cuddle him etc but it’s a risk I’ll never take.

We think as it was storming quite bad that night something spooked him.

8 year old not 1 year old

@Triffid1

There are signs up. It's always the same, they say their dogs are different, wouldn't hurt a fly.

I've never understood this. Surely it's not about the dog hurting the child (usually) but about letting the children have a safe space where they don't have to worry about dogs? my dog wouldn't hurt anyone but I totally accept that there need to be places that people, especially children, who are scared of dogs, can go and not have to worry? Our local playground is often empty and I let dog in with us because she can be annoying outside. But if I see a family anywhere NEAR, I immediately grab her and start removing her - even before the people are within calling range because I want them to be clear we'll be gone if they're coming in.

OP, usually i'd say contact the person but in this case I'd be nervous as there's no apology or acknowledge in the message. I'd pass the details to the police but I'd perhaps get someone else to call on your behalf. Someone who can gauge how the dog owners are likely to react and ensures that you don't get emotional and angry when speaking with them. If they're reasonable and sensible in person you could then engage directly but if it turns out they want to accuse you of behaving badly or whatever, then you can simply never speak with them in person.

Why do you think the signs don't mean you?

If your dog is annoying outside then better training is required.

One reason for no dogs is so they don't use a child's play area as a toilet and I don't believe for one second yours hasn't wee'd in there.

I agree op. They should have apologised. I wouldn't give your address as you know nothing about what sort of people they are. Maybe block them

@LaurieFairyCake

Don't forget it's likely their stupid kids who took the dog out when they shouldn't have have spun their parents some line minimising what happened

Those kids WILL have said 'oh one of the kids ran past the dog scaring her' or something

So don't think yet that they know any of what really happened

I hope the police follow it up

But the first words still should have been 'I'm so sorry' And they weren't

Pass their details to the Police.
Regardless of what they might want to say to you, the truth is they have a dog that has bitten a child, a dog that apparently actively pursued your child to bite him, not knock him over and slobber on him, which is bad enough, but actually sink his teeth in to cause puncture wounds. If he was 'playing' surely there would have been some sort of bite inhibition ? I had a dog the same size as the one that bit the OP's DS, they are powerful dogs, we got him as a young adult who was very mouthy on arrival, but after a week we had trained him out of it. Even during the short mouthy phase he never punctured the skin, I got the occasional graze, but never puncture wounds.

The police asked the person I knew who got bitten whether they wanted the dog put down. The person I knew felt so guilty after the owner pleaded with them, they said no. I expect that’s what’s happening here. So don’t contact them back as it shouldn’t be your decision to make.

What a useless response from the police. They should not be putting the onus on the victim to make that decision. A crime has been committed, the state/law sets the punishment, not victims. If the police thought that destruction was an appropriate option, then they should have made the decision to destroy it. A victim being blackmailed by pleading kids, or worse, threatened by an aggressive owner, should not be put on the spot.

Lucky to have the owners contacts and to be able to hand these to the police.

My 13 month old grandson was knocked to the ground by a staffie type dog which was much bigger than him.

It raced up to him (he was holding his father's hand) while he was 'toddling' on a beach, and jumped up at him, puncturing above and below his eye and scratching him almost the full length of his torso. He had a black eye for a couple of weeks.

The owner called the dog back and raced away whilst dad picked him up (he was pale and rigid with fear). My daughter was struggling with her 3 month old baby boy and her 4 year daughter who was absolutely hysterical at seeing her brother attacked then trampled by a large dog.

My daughter and her partner were torn between calming their children and trying to follow the owner who was not in control of his animal.

Dogs should be on leads when other people are about.

I have had dogs with filthy paws jumping up at me because they're not on leads. Not everyone likes animals - keep them away from others.

Don't even get me started on dog waste. I'm sick and tired of constantly having to avoid the stuff (both solid and liquid full width of the pavement). Who wants a pushchair in their house with dog waste on the wheels?

I have never seen so much dog mess on paths as where my younger daughter lives - it's all over the place, even in the town centre. It's a quaint market town and rather well to do with fabulous houses a plenty - far to posh to be bothered clearing up after their pets.

Should be illegal to take a dog for a walk solely for the purpose of soiling public footpaths. Dogs should soil their own property. My mother never took her dog out until it had done its business on her own property. My father cleared the mess on an evening. If Barbara Woodhouse could get dogs to poop on command then so can everybody else. Keep your dog dirt to yourselves and keep them on a lead.

@Villanelle

If my dog had bitten someone, especially a child, I would not message the victim/parents on FB saying basically "Here's my number, ring me now or give me your address so my husband can come and discuss this incident with you" because that sounds quite rude to me and not at all like I'd take responsibility.

I'd be on my knees, apologising like crazy and doing whatever I could to make it right, including doing anything the police/dog warden said I had to do.

You made the right decision not to contact them. Their main concern is obviously their dog and not the child it attacked. From their message, it just sounds like they want to stop you going to the police and control the situation themselves.

@Villanelle

If my dog had bitten someone, especially a child, I would not message the victim/parents on FB saying basically "Here's my number, ring me now or give me your address so my husband can come and discuss this incident with you" because that sounds quite rude to me and not at all like I'd take responsibility.

I'd be on my knees, apologising like crazy and doing whatever I could to make it right, including doing anything the police/dog warden said I had to do.

They could have ignored the whole thing, so contacting you does suggest that they're prepared to take responsibility.

@amatsip

My chihuahua bit my then year old, thankfully only superficial cuts, we took her to walk in and they told us they would inform the police, I expected that.

I had chihuahua at vets next morning, vets couldn’t find anything wrong and thought because in his eyes it was minor damage compared to what they can do he thinks he was spooked by something.

We got a behaviourist booked for the next day to see if we could find a way through this.

Police came over within 36 hrs, really nice but firmly said the dog if he does anything like this again will have a seize and destroy order.

Only because he could see we were trying to work through the situation he was spared.

He is never never alone with her, she totally got over it within a day or so and was more upset she couldn’t cuddle him etc but it’s a risk I’ll never take.

We think as it was storming quite bad that night something spooked him.

Are you outside the UK?

Here the police have zero right to seize a dog unless they have reason to believe the dog is a/ an illegal breed or b/the owners are going to allow it to attack someone again or c/ the dog is actually loose, out of control/at a crime scene with no owner etc ..

The police cannot destroy your dog without your consent unless they need to do so to safely end a situation ie, dog running loose attacking folk or a dog tied up but no one can get near to take control.

So if the above genuinely happened to you in the UK the police were lying and MASSIVELY over stepping their duties.

Its your dog. So whilst a dog bite to a child that is yours, by your dog, inside your home might be grounds for child safe guarding issues, the best they could do would be to seize and then hold the dog whilst it was evaluated and then a court would decide.

Police in the UK have been known to lie and scare owners into signing dogs over for euthanasia. This does not typically happen with teeny tiny breeds though!

In some places (lots of states in the US) a dog would be held for 10 day quarantine following a bite incident such as you describe, to check the dog shows no signs of rabies. Then you would most likely get the dog back but child services might be involved if they thought you were putting your child at risk.

It’s never appropriate for the victim of a crime to be contacted by the perpetrator on social media. I’m disappointed to see the police are clearly not taking this as seriously as they should be. A dog out of control in a children’s play area, that subsequently bit a child, is an incredibly dangerous siuation. God forbid if something happened while they were waiting to investigate your complaint. Be sure to photograph the progression of your child’s injuries.

God fairyannie that's awful what happened to your grandson.

@WiddlinDiddlin I’m in Sussex, they said they would take dog and apply for seize and destroy order through courts, this was last Feb.

@Crispina

God fairyannie that's awful what happened to your grandson.

We don't know how it's affected him but my granddaughter who's 4 years old has had nightmares and has been sleepwalking twice since this happened. She stops in her tracks when she sees any dog now and visibly shakes. Even hearing dogs barking in the distance makes her cling to someone for safety.

Don't dog owners realise the impact that unleashed dogs can cause?

There's the 'my dog doesn't do that' brigade and the 'I pick my dog's turds up' brigade but these problems wouldn't even exist in that case 🤔

I see dogs off lead running up to others every day. I see piles of dog dirt trodden for many yards across paths every day. Recently saw a dog crouched, dropping its bomb, and the owner was nowhere to be seen. A little further on was a group of three dog walkers with leads but no dogs. 🤬 Probably three unseen turds to pick up whilst dogs running wild knocking over toddlers.

It needs to stop.

I was attacked by a dog as an adult and I was shaken for days and it had a long lasting effect. I can't imagine how that experience would impact a child, who is less able to rationalise it.

I'm sorry OP, I hope action is taken against this dog owner. I also have a much loved dog and if she did this I would be taking steps to ensure it never happened again.

@SchadenfreudePersonified

A bloke I know had a dog, a terrier type who was leashed outside a shop, and a small child was poking the dog..and the dog bit the child’s face.

If the child was "poking the dog" then the person at fault is the parent!

Even the sweetest natured animal may snap if it is tormented or hurt.

That said, I would never leave my dog tied outside unattended for just this reason (and the risk of theft)

This is the problem though, and I say this as a dog owner. Your dog, your responsibility.

It should never be in a position where it can injure a child, because you should be in control of it at all times, on a lead or through excellent recall.

The person saying their boxer was playing, call it back if children/people are anywhere near.

You MUST be in control, and vigilant all the time, it's your responsibility as a dog owner.

OP, I'm so sorry this happened to your son. The children waking this dog and any others, should not be allowed out in control of dogs alone, it's too unpredictable.

Here the police have zero right to seize a dog unless they have reason to believe the dog is a/ an illegal breed or b/the owners are going to allow it to attack someone again or c/ the dog is actually loose, out of control/at a crime scene with no owner etc

In the situation the PP posted about, the police said to the owner that they would seize the dog if it bit someone again, so that would presumably come under b) the owners are going to allow it to attack someone again.

I can almost promise you that they are going to try to excuse either their dog's behavior or their own in not having him under control along with any apology (which there may well be). There may be tears, and protestations ("He's such a good boy normally, our kids adore him!") and subtle manipulation for you to let this go, it will never happen again. Save yourself that. Pass the name and number on to the police.

I definitely wouldn’t reply. They’ve managed to get hold of you... ask yourself how/ why they have they done this. If it was to apologise, why haven’t they sent a message saying so?

I would not respond. They are letting you know, that they know who you are (in my opinion).

Leave it to the police. Glad your dc ok

Oh wow. You've done the right thing passing the contact details to the police.

Dog owners like this give all of us a bad name. And I can’t believe the shitty dog-owners on here, coming out with pathetic excuses. 🙄

We have a small female Labrador, about the size of a beagle. I don’t let my 12YO, who’s nearly as tall as me (5’9”) walk her unsupervised, because even as small as she is, she can pull me off my feet, let alone a 12YO.

How bloody hard is it to just keep your dog under control?

If you can’t do it, you’ve either got the wrong breed, or are simply incapable of being a dog owner.

OP - I hope your DS revivers quickly, and you’ve done the right thing by ignoring the sub-standard dog-owner.