Dog burst my son's football

[Maverick99]

Took my 5yo football mad son to the park today to play with his new football that he got for his birthday. It cost £45 and was the first time he'd used it, after months of begging me for it.

He was kicking it through some goal posts when a dog (I think it was a staffy of some kind but know nothing about dogs so could be wrong) ran up to the ball which was about 10ft away from him and bit it, causing it to burst. It then started running around in circles around my son then back to its owner. Didn't seem dangerous but son was hysterical over his football.

Owner put the dog lead on and apologised, and I asked that he replaced the football. I was v pissed off and vocal about his dog and the fact that it wasn't on a lead. He said he couldn't afford it and refused to exchange details or tell me his name but was v apologetic.

Just feel pissed off that there was nothing I could do and nobody else helped me out as lots of people saw.

Can't afford to replace the football myself but thankfully my dad is going to buy him a new one tomorrow.

Not sure what I want from this thread, just a vent because I feel so irritated still and like I could've done more or handled it better.

I'd be horrified if I was the dog owner but I don't think I'd have believed you if you said it was a £45 ball!! I would have offered something though.

Dogs bursting kids balls in the park seems to be one of those things that has happened forever. I too remember a dog bursting our ball a looong time ago.

Now I doubt I'd take an expensive ball to a park where there are dogs running everywhere. Nonetheless, out of control dogs are irritating as hell.

His dog ruined the ball therefore he needs to replace it.
Dogs are not cheap to look after so I'm sure he could afford to pay something, if not £45, at least a contribution. To offer no compensation is twatish behaviour and deserves to be publicised on social media.

This is really shit, I had a large dog do the same to my son's football. The owner had already said to me not to be scared as the dog was only interested in the ball. Then the dog took the ball and the owner said to me "see told you" like it's somehow my fault that his dog was off lead and didn't obey. Dogs should be on leads if they don't have 100% recall. Especially around kids. You or your family should be able to buy your son a football he really wants and take it to the park. You are not the unreasonable one here.

My son was bitten on the arm as a dog jumped up to get his ball. We had to go to A and E. The owner told him he should have been kicking the ball, not holding it in his arms. Some of these dog-owners defy belief. Some are on this thread.

You are not considerate if you believe shaming a reasonable person who made a mistake on social media is appropriate!

The law is called the Dangerous Dogs Act of 1991. Section 2 states that a dog must be either on a lead or under control at all times.

No decent person will be angry at a dog that didn't do anything malicious, it's not fine at all.

This. I once witnessed a dog rip through a picnic and take food. The owner was only half-heartedly apologetic to the couple. Apparently it was the couple’s fault for having a picnic out, which was too tempting for her dog. Obviously.

I have no sentimental feelings towards a dog though. You do so you feel sorry for it when a human calls it a name 🤦🏼‍♀️. And in OP’s shoes I would be annoyed at the dog-owner duo.

I don’t and I wouldn’t. I don’t even have Facebook etc.

But I don’t think it’s appropriate to minimise the effect of one out of control dog damaging a ball by calling it ‘friendly’. How on earth do you know that? It was a staffy-type dog that ‘didn’t seem dangerous’. That’s all we know.
You mentioned the ‘friendly’ word for no reason. It’s a word used by dog-owners who are outraged that anyone could be upset by the actions of their precious pooch. That’s what I took issue with. Random dogs spoiling people’s stuff is not ‘friendly’.

I'm an animal lover and love dogs (cats more) but I'd kick any dog that bit my child

Leaving aside the expensive ball and the dog owner, was the dog really that much "out of control" as so many posters have been saying?

"ran up to the ball which was about 10ft away from him and bit it, causing it to burst. It then started running around in circles around my son then back to its owner. Didn't seem dangerous"

"Owner put the dog lead on and apologised"

"He said he couldn't afford it and refused to exchange details or tell me his name but was v apologetic"

"nobody else helped me out as lots of people saw."

To me, it seems like a friendly dog who acted on its natural instincts and wanted to play with the boy and the ball. Could have been of a young age. It caused no problem when it was put on a lead.

What do you posters have to say about children "out of control" in schools throughout the country? What about the muggings, stabbings and other crimes going on every day?

How would you rank this incident of a non dangerous dog biting a ball among the numerous wrong doings that happened yesterday?

What do you have to say about people watching not coming to the support of the mother? Would you have readily gone over to support the mother and demand that the dog owner pay £45 or give his name and address?

To me this appears to be an unfortunate but relatively very minor accident, where nobody got hurt.

The days are long gone when citizens obeyed the letter of the law. Not putting a non dangerous dog on a lead in a park is hardly the biggest of crimes.

I have to admire the fact that in a country where the rule of law applies, posters have shown a lot of restraint and not called for the lynching or hanging of the dog and its owner.

For the record, I have never had a dog.

I hope the little boy got a new ball today and is happy again.

I'd probably agree to replace the football but not for £45, as I wouldn't believe a football cost that much. So maybe he thought you were having him on?

Glad your son will be getting a new one though

This happened to me and my mates more than once as a boy. Or the miserable old git not giving the ball back when it went over his fence, or the bus running over it, or the ball landing on spiked railings (really funny to everyone but the owner of the ball) or we lost the ball.
This is why sports direct have footballs for about £5....£45 for a five year old!

But that's the issue - it wasn't on the lead in the first place. If it chases balls and doesn't have good recall it should be on a lead in the park. So yes it was out of control. Ie not under the control of its owner.

If the owner had been responsible the dog would have been on the lead and this wouldn't have happened.

Maybe it shows the general frustration caused by the current influx of bad dog ownership.

Dog being "friendly" is a flagship excuse of bad dog owners, it tells you they don't even plan to control the dog more in future.

Proper accidents are about give and take, once something happens to you and once something is caused by you. Dogs are breaking the pattern here, as the dog owner takes all the benefits of having a dog, while forcing lots of disadvantages on others. It isn't an accident to have a dog and let it destroy other people's things, it is a decision.

It is interesting how many people consider damaging child's property as significantly more acceptable than adult's one.

The little boy getting a new ball isn't much of a consolation here - it doesn't come from the dog owner, it doesn't come from some kind of dog owners mutual insurance fund. It comes from a boy's relative.

Owner put the dog lead on and apologised, and I asked that he replaced the football. I was v pissed off and vocal about his dog and the fact that it wasn't on a lead. He said he couldn't afford it and refused to exchange details or tell me his name but was v apologetic.

I really do feel feel for your son.
Sorry I haven't read all of your replys, but what else could he do, if he can't afford to replace it? What do you mean he refused to swap details? Why would you need too?
I'm really glad your sons getting a replacement but dogs do chase balls, is be mortified if I was the guy and you were vocal.about replacing it. Your son probably won't remember his ball getting punctured normally, but he might remember his mum approaching the owner.
I couldn't afford to replace £45 either and would be gutted too 💐

As a dog owner, if a ball came flying towards my dog, he would 100% leap on it and possibly burst it, but I’d be mortified and would offer to pay for a replacement. I know he’s a bugger for footballs though, so wouldn’t have him off lead near anyone playing with one.

No, all this says is that you enjoy taking out your anger on innocent parties and I don't

Is a dog chasing a ball classed as "dangerous"? I don't think so. It is normal dog behaviour.

And a few people on here calling me entitled and a bad dog owner. My dog is very well trained (I considered putting her forward as a PaT dog), ignores kids and balls in the park... I pull her over to me if we see someone who might not like dogs, or we see an nasty little yappy thing.

But yes, call me a bad dog owner because I don't think it appropriate to shame someone on social media who has already apologised profusely.
I wonder what you would call me if I did not have a dog.

@XenoBitch you'd just be selfish as opposed to being a selfish dog owner. The law is there for a reason, people shouldn't have to put up with random dogs approaching them or destroying their belongings. Just because your dog is well trained doesn't mean they all are. And if they are going to chase people or balls then they should be on a lead. It's not complicated.

How am I selfish when I was not the dog owner that burst OP's son's ball?
I am just saying it is nuts to publicly shame someone who was already very apologetic (after OP opened both barrels on him), and said he could not afford the £45 to replace the ball.

Your whole attitude is selfish. You're condoning the selfish behaviour of the dog owner in question and minimising the upset of a young child. Why? What would have been so difficult about putting the dog on a lead for a walk in a public place?

I never said plastering it on social media is the right thing to do. But the op has every right to be pissed off. Her child's property was damaged because someone chose not to control their dog. If you know your dog has poor recall don't let it off the lead in a park where kids are playing.

I was not the dog owner in the OP.. so get mad all you want about it. I am not him.

Dogs chase balls. They also pop them. A dog that does either is not dangerous or out of control.

Totally ok, if they chase their own balls. If the dog owner decides to let them chase other people's dogs, it is only fair to expect they are ready to shoulder consequences and pay for damages.
Choosing to let one's dog chase other people's balls is selfish and antisocial.