Daughter attacked by dog what happens next?

[JustAnotherUsername2]

I've name changed/altered a few details because its identifying

DD (teen) was attacked by an unaccompanied large dog on a main road. It managed to drag her to the floor. She had to be helped by members of the public to get the animal off her, she did do a good job of defending herself though, by kicking out and although clothing/shoes are ripped/ have teeth marks and some other property is damaged, the only physical injury is thankfully very small. Police are involved as dog also tried to attack others and from what we were told, several police officers struggled to contain the animal.

Police were excellent and took a statement, we have a crime number etc. DD is generally OK obviously shaken up. We were told we would hear from the police going forward, but I guess my question is what happens next? If this had been a smaller child, or circumstances were different, the outcome could have been horrific.

We dont know if the dog is owned or a general stray (seems unlikely).

It really depends on whether the dog has done this before but he should certainly be managed.
The owners are to blame absolutely the dog shouldn't be out alone

Surely it would be best to ask the police

You are absolutely right that during an attack you don't get a chance to think - you just respond defensively and try to protect yourself. Shock and pain take over (dog bites are incredibly painful). Dogs are very powerful for their size, too - and a big dog is very strong and fast. Those are nasty bites.

OP - your DD is so courageous - this dog has been let down by the owner who hasn't trained it or ensured it was kept under control. If it is destroyed please reassure her it is NOT her fault. (And if you were intending to get a dog, please do go ahead - it will help with her confidence around them which might have taken a battering.)

I hope your DD recovers quickly - horrible experience.

I’m so sorry that happened to your DD it sounds horrific. The dog will certainly have committed an offence under the dangerous dogs act by being out of control in a public place and giving reasonable fear of injury - a dog doesn’t have to actually bite or break skin for an offence to be committed and what happened to your daughter would be more than enough. I guess it depends whether the dog is chipped and if the police can establish ownership if anyone can be prosecuted but I would think if the dog is unclaimed it will be destroyed anyway. I did a course years ago with solicitor Trevor Cooper of Doglaw who specialises in such cases - more often representing the dog owner but would certainly know your rights in the matter and offers free initial advice. doglaw.co.uk/dangerous-dogs/section-3-dangerous-dogs-act-1991/

Oh my god, how awful. I am so sorry. I hope your daughter is coping okay - that sounds horrific to experience. I'm glad the police are on top of it.

A few years ago my baby, then 6 months old, was attacked by a dog at a playground. He was just sitting in his pram. I had to wrestle the dog off my baby - thank god he was okay. The owners raced over to get their dog (of course it had "never done anything like this before") but were incredibly defensive and stormed off. I rang the police but unfortunately I didn't have any information that was useful and didn't even know the dog breed so they couldn't pursue it. I wish so much that I'd taken a photo of the dog and the couple but I didn't think of it in the moment. Anyway, I've always been quite frightened of dogs being near my kids ever since (and my now 4 year old, who was 2 at the time and saw it all, is petrified of dogs too). I've tried to gently reintroduce dogs to my sons using my brother's gorgeous labrador as I don't want them to have a lifelong terror of dogs.

@JustAnotherUsername2 Im so sorry this happened to your DD but glad she was not more seriously injured.

You have had some good advice about action you can take including using your house insurance if it has legal cover.

One thing I haven’t seen mentioned is for your DD to write down her recollection of what happened. This has two purposes, the first is as an aide memoire of her recollection of what happened and what she did. Doing this as soon after an incident means it’s fresh in her mind.

The second reason is it can help your DD to start to process what happened to her.

I hope they actually do something about this incident!

when I was a teenager I was taking our new puppy (under 6 months) for a walk and we got around the block and a adult Male Husky jumped over the fence and charged towards my puppy! Since ours was a baby and just getting use to the outside world and other dogs as soon as she saw this dog she instantly submitted and went on her back! This adult male locked jaws on the soft tissue of her lower abdomen and stated shaking its head with locked jaws.

I was frozen and shocked, my bf at the time was trying to pull the dog off and hit it and then the owner came out and had no control, was beating it and all sorts! Once the dog let her go he just casually walked off with the dog not even apologising!

I took her home immediately and told my mum who called the police. They went to the house the dog jumped over the wall to find the dog didn’t live there and it was actually traced back to our road! Worst part is this dog was named Killa and apparently it had attacked other dogs before including another older woman’s dogs on our road. Every time this owner and the dog was reported, we all got a Crime reference number and that was really it!

considering this dog had attacked before and I believe even killed a few in the past, the police didn’t actually do anything about it! The owner didn’t even get a slap on the wrist even though he and his house was identified! The guy had no remorse, done nothing to prevent it happening again and ultimately just moved house to start a bad reputation elsewhere!

when we tried to get an update afterwards they told us they cannot disclose any information but it was clear no further action would be made!

when I got my dog 4 years ago this one situation stuck in my mind! I was non stop scared while he was small he could get attacked and the police won’t do anything! Btw it permanently scarred our childhood dog mentally and emotionally! She was never the same again, never liked other dogs, could never train that out of her, couldn’t let her off lead she just hated EVERYTHING! There was no resolving that situation no matter how hard we tried and to think this guy just walked free repeating the same mistakes!

I really hope your daughter doesn’t have the same experience because this is a real big issue in this country! We had a baby get attacked in a park about 15 years ago by 2-3 dogs. The parents were foreign and just stood there flailing about screaming! They must have been new in the country because they didn’t even have the number for emergency services! My mum had to call for them and yet again nothing was done about this poor baby getting mauled! It’s disgusting!

My husband was put on antibiotics after being bitten running in the park. Might be worth looking into.

get a medic to check her over. Photograph all the damage to your DD

Any update @JustAnotherUsername2?

Any dog that attacks randomly with no provocation should be put to sleep, no second chance