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.

No.....Public work a lot faster and better I find.

Do you report everything you see?????

Offer £1 a week for 10 weeks?

And if he can't afford that then he can't afford a dog.

@Allthegoodnamesaregone1 sorry where have you quoted from? Who decides what is due to someone or what someone should receive?

I think it would've been fair for the owner to offer a contribution for the ball but justice is not retribution and vigilantism is disgusting in any form.

A genuine apology is never useless.

Accidents happen, whether it's a dog popping a ball or a child spilling their drink down a strangers coat or someone accidentally knocking something off a table. That's life. It's a shame, but no-one deserves to be hung drawn and quartered for it.

@Allthegoodnamesaregone1 actually just seen you think apologies are useless is that what you teach your children?!

No...it's quiet here.

But MN went mad when I told the story of how I kicked a dog before...so I tend to deal with matters then and there.

Well what more are they?
I teach them in righting the wrongs they've committed..

Ate you seriously teaching your children that a sorry makes everything OK?
JFC no matter there are so many horrible kids.

Ah you are the dog kicker, shame on you.

It wasn't an accident.
It was negligence.

If your actions cause another person loss or cost you should cover it.

Yea I kicked a dog out of control in a park trying to bite me

Right in the chest. It hurt the dog.
Owner went mad.

I couldn't care less and yes I'd do it again.

The definition of accident is "an unfortunate incident that happens unexpectedly and unintentionally, typically resulting in damage or injury."

So yes, an accident.

I didn't buy it for him but he's had the same football since he was 3 and we've never had a problem with it. But yes it is a lot of money.

In the original post "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."
so he got the football when be was 3, after begging for it because he was so desperate for it - then used it for the first time today after two plus years?
Some people make up really weird stuff.

@Cazpar it wasn't unintentional. He intentionally let his dog off the lead. He may not have known it would pop a ball but he most likely knew it wouldn't be under control.

He intentionally let his dog off the lead yes. You have failed to grasp that he did not intend for his dog to pop the ball.

Therefore, an accident.

@Allthegoodnamesaregone1

Would've been ironic if someone had posted about what you did with that dog on Facebook with intent of getting justice.

Either you're trying to wind people up or you do genuinely believe the deeply unpleasant things you're saying.

Definitions from Oxford Languages · Learn more
noun
noun: negligence; plural noun: negligences
failure to take proper care over something.
"his injury was due to the negligence of his employers"

LAW
breach of a duty of care which results in damage

My old dog wouldn’t have blinked at a ball. His focus was on me.

My current dog would run straight at it with no recall ability.

Hence why current dog stays on the long line in public!

Dog owner is massively U letting an unrecallable dog off the lead. But sadly I literally see badly trained dogs off lead daily.

It falls into the “one of those things” category - sadly because you just can’t trust other people to behave respectfully in public. Take a cheap one next time and keep the good one for in the garden or football field.

You shouldn't have to… but shitty people are everywhere sadly

Exactly

Yea....how would you make a dog wild in the park biting someone into the victims fault?

I've seen some good spin stories but that's just impossible.

Plus I had some witnesses and that man did not get away lightly.

@ThinWomansBrain - yes, I thought that didn’t add up. But then neither did I see much sense in spending £45 for a football for a five year old. My boys have always been delighted with the 2 for 1 offers I got from the bargain bin. Oddly enough my terriers were never able to put their teeth through them. Maybe better to make the expensive football femour so it’s replaced more often?

OP could not afford to replace the ball either. What does that say about her parenting?

Who cares if it’s a lot?! If he can’t afford to replace stuff his dog destroys he should have it on a lead. The cost of the football is fine.

Nothing. She didn’t break the ball. And even if she had it’s her child her dealing with fall out.