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 fostered a dog that was a sweetheart around people but I think had been used as a bait dog as she was SO reactive. I muzzled her in public, and because she was a big goofy golden lab people kept telling me she'd be fine to go and play off lead and unmuzzled with their dog.
I'd fed back to the charity several times that I had massive concerns, but they were totally unhelpful. Then one day someone rang the doorbell and a guest at our house opened the door, and the dog escaped, shot up the road and attacked a small dog being led by a woman with a toddler and a pram. I have NEVER been so scared as running barefoot up the road listening to her child's screams. They were all okay, but the dog went back to the rescue the next day with a very strong recommendation to have it PTS. I now wish I'd had her put down and claimed she had died or something, because goodness knows where she ended up.

I thought it was well known that the RSPCA are shit? When we decided to get a dog I was adamant I wanted a rescue. I did a ton of research and we adopted our lad from the local Dog's Trust shelter. They've got the best reputation as far as I know, they also won't put a dog down unless it's ill. They did numerous checks on us, on our house, neighbourhood, even family members who don't live with us before we were approved.

I'm not sure. Perhaps she thought they might be rehabilitated and find a forever home with adults only.

What a surprise. It's a bull breed and not a lab / greyhound / spaniel etc. I hate those dogs.
She was daft to take it on. Heaven knows why the RSPCA thought it was worth the risk.

I don't hate the dogs but I am terrified of them.
Same goes for lions tigers bears crocodiles, I don't hate them but I'm terrified of them.... or I would be if they were being kept as pets in an urban environment and on the loose.

Let’s be honest, the issue is also that giving a dangerous or very badly trained dog fir adoption through a rescue is also avoiding the owner to face a reality - that the dog needs to be ptsd. They are not the bad people who take the decision to put down a healthy dog.

Maybe we need to start by changing mentalities too. And see dangerous dogs fir what they are - a danger. And that’s it’s ok to ptsd animals for other reasons than poor health.

Yep.
There is this idea that most - all - dogs can be rehabilitated in the right environment and with the right people.

And then the inner don’t feel the guilt.
The guilt of buying such a dangerous breed. Guilt if not having train their dog properly. The guilt of putting down ‘a member of the family’/our baby…

I was told when I approached the rspca that they didn't accept families with children under 12 - I'm surprised so many here were able to adopt from the rspca.

We instead got a puppy and trained him properly, he's elderly now. All dogs can be trained and it should be enforced somehow, even snappy toy breeds.

It’s in the paper this afternoon about two women being mauled in the small hours of the morning by 2 dogs and they’re now in hospital.

Lots of issues around dogs mainly involving thick people tbh. Far too many people get dogs on a whim then give them up on another whim, don't look into breed characteristics, get dogs they just cannot handle or look after properly, let their dc jump all over them etc. Then the often neglected and damaged dog ends up in a rescue.
I wouldn't be able to get that sort of dog even if I wanted one because a dogs strength is around 3x that of a human in comparison to it's size and I would not feel comfortable even though I have been a lifelong dog owner of both rescues and puppies.
Some rescue dogs can't cope with things that aren't apparent at first and are traumatised and take ages and loads of input/help/ understanding to settle.
Dh and I help at a local rescue which is brilliant at assessing the dogs. They use a dog psychologist as well as vets, a breeder etc to form an opinion.

I was told when I approached the rspca that they didn't accept families with children under 12 - I'm surprised so many here were able to adopt from the rspca.

They wouldn't let me adopt a cat so I have no idea how people are getting dogs from them!

We instead got a puppy and trained him properly, he's elderly now. All dogs can be trained and it should be enforced somehow, even snappy toy breeds

I have always had toy dogs and have never found them snappy. No more so than any other breed. Have never had a yappy one for that matter.

the problem arises because people don’t treat them like dogs. So they never learn dog social interactions, stranger interactions etc as usually the owners response is “ooh big dog, pick it up”.

I am sick of saying to visitors to put him down. He has legs for a reason. Saying to children, and adults- don’t just grab him, let him come to you. I am careful around sighthounds for obvious reasons, and manage most meetings on lead initially until I know both dogs are comfortable or the big dog has enough manners not to just bounce all over him- usually labradors 😂.

but I agree these big powerful dogs that can’t be restrained by humans, police in bloody body armour or even taser need something doing.

I do wonder if some of the problem is those videos on social media from the US where they like to show “pitties” as soppy family dogs, easily rehabilitated from snarling in a cage with a bit of love and cuddles.

We need to stop people rehoming these big XL bully/whatever type breeds to normal homes. They are not suitable for normal family homes and family life. I am a massive dog-lover, have my own, have competed in dog sports, etc. but I wouldn't touch one with a bargepole.

The trope is that it's not the dog, it's the owner, but that's not true. A lot of things are down to owner error/training, but not everything, and temperament matters. Some dogs are an unsuitable temperament for domestic life, and some breeds are more prone to unsuitable temperaments due to breeding patterns/being bred for specific traits, etc.

That’s insane.
That can’t be true as I adopted a wonderful Lurcher from RSPCA and 12 yrs later she developed a terminal condition and was euthanised at home by a kindly vet.
They knew, in fact one of the vets who worked at the RSPCA hospital said home euthanasia would be what she would do if it was her dog.

Euthanasia in the face of terminal illness of a pet To spare suffering is surely Acceptable by any reputable charity.

Absolutely true.
Whippets are hardwired to chase.
Springers to work all day
Collies to herd
and.. Guards to guard - Bullies to bull bait and fight.

These breeds have been selected over hundreds of years to do what they do.

That dog looks terrifying! It's far from a 'pet'.

And as much as feel sorry for the victim, why on earth did she think bringing that animal into her home was a good idea?

Why would anyone want an animal that could so easily overpower them? That could do real damage to themselves or others?

It's ridiculous.

I was walking my spaniel recently and there was a woman being dragged along by a dog that she clearly had no control over. She said something about her dog "not liking other dogs", but she was only just managing to keep hold of it!

I never feel completely safe walking my dog because of people like this and always keep a spare lead incase I need it to defend myself and my dog.

And don't get me started on Cane Corsos!

Another breed that need banning immediately and only owned by complete morons.

It seems the RSPCA are very public about their fostering out of dogs that are subject to prosecution cases. “We try to rehome our animals as quickly as possible, but if they are involved in a prosecution case we could have them in our care for long periods”

https://www.rspca.org.uk/getinvolved/volunteer/whatcanido/fostering

Surely that's legal proceedings for animal cruelty? It makes more sense for the animal to be with a foster carer than in a kennel/cattery while it's arsehole owner is being procecuted.

I think we need to be cautious about making assumptions based on an article which is presenting the car of one side of the equation. I'd have several questions to ask. Starting out with why anyone would want a breed that is huge and known for its aggressive tendencies. Also wondering why she didn't immediately return it the first time it tried to bite her. What had happened to her is tragic. But we don't know the whole truth, and that is for the courts to determine.

@Lastnamedidntstick "I am sick of saying to visitors to put him down. He has legs for a reason."

I like you! My service dog obviously has off duty time when he can just be a dog. He's always been fascinated by people who pick up their dog when he's around (he's a border collie). Generally other than a few "friends" he ignores other dogs, but the minute someone picks up their dog he wants to know why it's legs don't work! It's like a beacon to him to check it out. I suspect its because he has a lot of empathy - he's a PTSD support dog - so he thinks they must need help!

Around here the rescues more often than not won't re-home dogs with children or other dogs but that clearly wouldn't have helped this lady. I have children and other dogs so I can't take any of them even if I wanted to, but things like this really put you off - it doesn't seem to be a good PR move to be rehoming aggressive dogs because no-one is going to take on any dog if they can't trust what they are being told about the history.

Interesting - I wonder if there is anything you could carry to protect you in case of a dog attack? I sometimes (suffer with bouts of anxiety) worry about what I would do if a large dangerous dog approached one of my children.

But then if being tasered three times doesn’t do the trick, I don’t see anything I can legally carry being too helpful!

Bonkers

I'm reading all these posts and thinking about the solution.....not sure exactly what it is. But I do think more onus needs to be on individuals and rescues. People need to be held to account. Its apparent to me that dog attacks have dramatically increased in recent times and I think the type of dogs that (bully types) are on the rise. I don't think these breeds were seen when I was growing up (I'm late 30s) but they seem to be everywhere these days.

Funnily enough I was out on my usual dog walk earlier today and I got speaking to a chap and we got onto this subject. He was saying how often he comes across the American bulldog and xl bully's (along with the usual suspect owners) and how our local council had recently made dog enforcement duties as part of the parking warden responsibilities and apparently they all walked out. Can't say I blame them either....