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.

So ridiculous.

A child is unreasonable for taking a ball to a park with goalposts.

But a dog owner who chooses to let an out of control dog loose in such a place is fine. Righto.

The ming boggles, honestly.

Same happened to my friend's kid the other day, except the dog owner wasn't even apologetic. It's crap. I think they should pay, personally. Don't have a dog if you can't afford it.

People should be allowed to take stuff outside that costs more than a tenner FFS - why should the poor lad not be allowed to play with his birthday present in case some eejit can't control their dog?!

You own a dog, you are responsible for that dog's actions. If it (for example) bit someone expensive jacket that they'd taken off for a moment, would that be the victim's fault for having the temerity to own clothing not from Primark?

I’ll give you my honest, unfiltered response.

That’s a stupid amount of money to spend on a football.

Agree with another poster that you shouldn’t bring it to the park where it could be nicked or damaged considering the price.

You might argue that bikes etc are more expensive…. But generally you are sat on the bike.

Seriously, I would find it hard to fathom spending that on a 14yo never mind a 5yo…. Buy a cheaper ball for the park.

Presumably you need to have a spare £45 if you have a dog, though, in case the dog needs medical treatment? Even if you have insurance you will need to pay an excess.

Owner of dog obviously unreasonable for not paying up… but if the park allows dogs off the lead this is something you need to consider.

If OP was wearing a £45 jumper and a dog jumped up and ripped it, would people say she was being unreasonable to wear the jumper to the park?

Then he's not that knowledgeable.
The average Premier league balls my son has for Christmas/ birthdays are £28 and that's not considering things like limited edition and World Cup, Champions League balls etc

Yes I would too. I bought one for a friend's grandson the other week and it cost £4.50!

I used to have a rescue boxer x staff girl that was awful for shredding balls, I wouldn’t have had her off lead in a park with them about.

The ball was brand new. First outing. He'd had one other ball since he was 3.

Honestly! And I guess your son doesn't know that much about footballs.

Uncalled for really. Can I come round to your house and criticise your stuff? The OP didn't even buy the ball.

I haven't read all 16 pages of comments, so I don't know if anyone has said this.
The dog owner let his dog run free in a park where there were small children. If the dog was not able to be controlled, then how did the owner know that the dog wouldn't harm a child?
Also many children are frightened by a dog running up to them.

You mean lie it was the man's "choice" to not keep his dog on a leash?

The cost of the ball means nothing. That's like telling someone who has a brand-new car, and you hit it, that you aren't going to pay because they should just drive a beater.

He took his dog off the leash, which makes him at fault, no matter the cost of the ball. Can't afford to replace or don't wish to replace an expensive ball? Keep your dang dog on the leash.

I'll admit to not reading the whole thread but I wanted to say this exact thing happened to us when my ds was little. He got a West Ham football for Christmas and so we dutifully went to the park on Boxing Day and a Labrador whizzed in the game nicked the ball and burst it! We were 😮 but tbh the sight of the dog looking all pleased running around with his prize made us laugh. We ended up playing with the dog and a burst ball and had a great time. Yes they should have been on a lead but honestly now we remember it with fondness. Like one of those nostalgic Christmas stories all families have. The owner of the dog was mortified and gave me a tenner so Father Christmas could replace it. I have not taken an expensive (which it was at the time) item to the park since!

I still remember the proud look on that dogs face 😂

If he can't afford a ball that cost that much, he can't afford to have his dog off the leash.

Dogs are a LOT more expensive to keep around than a ball that cost 45 pounds.

Only on Mumsnet could it be the people think if they break something then you don’t have to pay for it. Because it’s a fecking dog and this site is full of odd entitled dog owners.

What a ridiculous comment 🙄

That would only make sense if the child destroyed the ball. He didn't. A damn dog, whose owner decided a leash wasn't needed, destroyed the ball.

If you don't have 45 pounds, I hope your dog doesn't get ill or injured. Hope he's on a leash all the time when out.

If you do have 45 pounds for your dog but not to replace something your dog destroyed, keep your dog on a leash and under control when out in public.

It should be law that all dogs must be on leashes in public, except at dog parks, and have a hefty, large fine if caught without.

We had a dog burst my dogs football once. My dog loves heading footballs back to people and hes genuinely so careful not to pop a ball, because he knows he can't play with a bust ball... his face was the saddest face I've ever seen on a dog when he dropped it at my feet all deflated

Then the dog owner should have made sure his dog could not destroy other people's property when out. If you cannot afford the damages your dog can do, keep the damn dog on a leash and under control in public.

If the OP's child had destroyed someone's property, THEN you would have a point to your pst.

Instead, you are being silly and snarky because "dogs can do no wrong and if they do, so what" in your world.

@QuizzlyBear that’s just ridiculous. Dogs are expensive, extremely expensive and vets fees are high. Here we have something called the NHS, that covers ‘humans’ not pets. If you can’t afford £45 to replace something then in my opinion you shouldn’t own a pet. Most animals cost that in flea/worming treatment every few months.

Another entitled person missing the point.