Woman looses arm due to dog bite

[Drlovestrong]

Dog owner who lost arm after pet bit her is suing RSPCA for £200K https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11992905/Rescue-dog-owner-lost-arm-pet-bit-suing-RSPCA-200-000.html?ito=native_share_article-nativemenubutton

Can we talk about this? I am appalled at the amount of dog bites (fatal and otherwise). What is going on?! I am a life long owner of dogs, they are my favourite animal, but I think this article should be discussed.

A few years back, a friend relinquished her two staffies to a local dog rescue. She hadn't trained her pets and after the birth of her second child she felt she couldn't trust them around her children. One attempted to bite her and she felt they were unstable and aggressive. She fully disclosed all of this information to the rescue and was disappointed and anxious that when she went online to look at the rescues advert of the dogs, the descriptions of them were not accurate and they were being advertised as suitable for families with children aged 5+.

I was shocked that a rescue would do this but have since learnt this wasn't a one off and other people have similar stories to tell. I love dogs and this isn't about me trying to tell people not to rescue dogs but hoped we could discuss our thoughts and opinions on it. Personally I wouldn't ever rescue a dog as a mother with children at home. I had this viewpoint long before any of this came to light. I feel its too risky to have a dog that you cannot be certain of its history in and around young children. Anyway....what do you think? Thanks

I think she was taking a massive risk with an American Bulky that had been put into a rescue

Poor woman.

I’ll be shot down but no one needs to have a dog like that. If a dog if that size and strength decides to bite you it’s going to do some serious damage. If a Yorkshire terrier goes for you it’s not the same threat. That’s why we more breeds banned. No wannabe gangster who wants to look “hard” is going to choose a cocker spaniel or a border terrier as a pet. We need to get real about these breeds and the types of people choosing them.

Those American Bully’s are frightening enough even when not displaying aggressive behaviour. I walked passed a young woman trying to walk two on leads the other day and it was clear they were walking her - she didn’t have the strength to control them.

They just need to ban American bulldogs now, it’s beyond a joke!

Perhaps if the rspca had fully disclosed its history it would be a risk she would not have taken

There needs to be serious controls (or a ban) on this breed. Over and over in the news killing and injuring people.

We need control over dog ownership anyway - but this breed seems like it needs tackling right now. I have a dog and love dogs, but this dog just looks far too powerful and dangerous to be kept in random residential properties.

RSPCA should have PTS, knowing the dog had previously attacked.

RSPCA should have PTS, knowing the dog had previously attacked.

Agree.

Who makes the decision to rehome dogs that have been given up? A vet? Someone else? Does anybody know? The person should be held accountable I think!!

Your friend gave her dogs to a bad rescue if they’re homing dogs to families with young kids. Was it in the U.K.? Which one was it?

I’ve worked in loads of rescues and it’s not common to home any dogs with kids that young? Did she check them out? Did she not see they were homing other dogs with young children by looking online before she gave them to the rescue?

I do think some breeds need to be stopped. The breeders are the real issue, the ones that breed certain dogs shouldn’t be breeding any dogs. We all know who they are.

Look at it. That’s not a dog, it’s a monster!

a ban on these American bully dogs and xl bullies really can’t come soon enough.

I presume the RSPCA works like others, a whole team assesses the dogs Thst come into rescues I’ve worked at, which includes vets, trainers, behaviourists and volunteers.

Couldn't tell you the name as i can't remember. It's uk midlands.

As you've worked in rescues please can you tell me who makes the decisions about removing? When someone gives up their dog to you and discloses details of aggression and or bites how do you proceed with those dogs? Thanks

I helped a family member rehome a ddog. Thanks to a very kind mner he got a space in a very reputable rescue. I filled in pages and pages about him and his nature. That he was a jealous and possessive ddog (with me and wasn't that great around my dc). They rehomed him to a dm who's dc spent 50/50 with her exh. The ddog was very possessive of her when the dc came back. Bit her ds on the face. He had a breakdown when she returned him and he was pts.. She should never have been matched with him.
Did they even read my forms? Has actually put me off getting a rescue..

Are there ever occasions the team can't agree on a decision? What happens then? Who has the final say?

Oh my gosh I'm so sorry to hear this but funnily enough I've heard this often. I think it's disgraceful. I suspect there are many rescues where the people who work there want to remove dogs versus pts at ANY COST. Which is how these situations come about. I think rescues need to be more accountable and regulated somehow. What happens does anyone know when this happens? Is anyone routinely held to account or shrugged off as one of those things?

I’ve just seen this woman was only fostering the dog. This was likely to have been part of the later stages of the assessment process, to see how the dog behaved in a home setting. Dogs sometimes get through all the checks at the shelter but don’t do well in a home setting.

Bloody auto correct I mean rehome not remove

So if it hadn't bitten her and she found him unsuitable in a home environment would he have been pts?

As a volunteer in a dog rescue do you think he should have been fostered anyway given his history which had been reported to the rspca?

I’d this one the U.K. Do you know which rescue?

I knew exactly what the dog would look like before I even scrolled down! A Jack Russell wouldn't have cost her arm...

I love my dogs (rescues too) and in a very un-mumsnet fashion treat them as family members. I get very nervous when I see one of those things walking by me and my boys. They're far too big for me to lift out of danger if something went wrong so I can imagine I'd easily get seriously injured trying to defend them 😔

Rescue initials are JG....

I don't have any respect for or trust in the rspca. They put down thousands of healthy dogs every year, they do nothing about clear cut abuse cases (dogs, horses, small furries), use their considerable funds for ridiculous high profile court cases.

I'm not I the slightest bit suprised they rehomed an entirely unsuitable dog. Bull breeds in general need to be restricted in some way and these awful xl bullies (which is a fucking stupid name and cllear marketing ploy) should be banned outright. But I'm in favour of massively restricting pet ownership full stop. Nobody needs a massive dog or five cats or to be breeding anything in their shed in the garden.

I get what you are saying but a jack Russell biting a baby or small child could definitely kill them.

I owned two long legged jack Russell's so please understand I love the breed but I think it's silly to underestimate any dog on size or breed.

Pet owners need to take responsibility for their animals and if they have one they don't want that can't be rehomed to an average family they should PTS themselves, not pass the problem on to a rescue charity. Most of them have a no-kill policy unless something dire happens because if they don't, lots of people won't donate to them.

I also had a friend who rehomed a dog that bit her boyfriend and wasn't to be trusted ever again, was thereafter muzzled for every walk and kept in another room when visitors came. She challenged the charity about it and same old story, they'd failed to disclose they knew the dog had bitten before. This was a local fairly large independent charity. I don't think any of them ever disclose it or they know the dog will never be rehomed if they do.

Perhaps an unpopular opinion but I hope she wins her case and the RSPCA have to pay out and think twice about rehiring such dogs. Around Christmas time my lab was attacked, completely unprovoked, bitten deeply in the neck requiring surgery and ongoing treatment by a rescue staffie. The charity knew it was a bite risk as had bitten previous other handlers and was reactive to dogs but still allowed it to be adopted. At the very least they should have stipulated the dog wears a muzzle at all times but they didn’t, so the owners didn’t “need” to wear one according to them. £1300 vet bill for emergency surgery later, the only thing that saved my dog was the fact she was fat so missed the important arteries. No repercussions for the rescue for allowing that dog to be rehomed, nor the knew owners.

. I don't think any of them ever disclose it or they know the dog will never be rehomed if they do.

I suspect this too which is why I would never rescue a dog especially as I have children.

Most of them have a no-kill policy unless something dire happens because if they don't, lots of people won't donate to them.

Didn't know this but that explains an awful lot. This is so problematic.

I agree dog owners should be more responsible but equally so should the rescues. They should be held accountable if they rehome a pet with a history of biting or aggression and then goes on to bite.