Witch hunt for old woman

[DogsBehavingWrongly]

Yesterday a woman was walking her dog when it was attacked by an offlead dog. Offlead dog was owned by elderly woman who always walks dog in this same area daily. She says the dog has never done this before. Attacked dog was limping after the attack and elderly woman was asked for her details (after been shouted at by other woman). She refused to give any details and rushed off home.

Woman with attacked dog then posts on Facebook saying what happened and asks if anyone knows the woman as she wants the vet bills taken care off. This then starts a witch hunt on Facebook of people trying to identify old woman and suggesting people follow her home etc to get her address. A relative of old woman then posts that her grandmother is terrified at what is happening and asks for people to leave her alone as she’s now too scared to leave the house.

im torn on this - on one hand accidents do happen, dogs are unpredictable sometimes and this elderly woman has previously walked her dog in this manner with no issues. On the other hand, I’m sick to death of irresponsible dog owners and am fearful everytime I walk my dog that she will be attacked by an offlead dog. This area is full of the “it’s ok, he’s friendly!” Types.

Where would you stand on this? IMO the elderly woman (or her relative) needs to do the right thing, accept responsibility and pay the vet bills.

I do t agree with witch hunts but I also don’t believe the woman’s behaviour was acceptable simple as she is elderly. Unless there is a back story of mental health issues, then she knew what she had to do. She needs to take responsibility for her dogs actions.

The owner of the off lead dog should pay the vet bill. Everyone else should simmer down.

Hounding (sorry) people on social media is never a good thing.

If this dog is unpredictable and, by implication, dangerous, discuss with the police.

So the relative thinks that the poor person whose dog was attacked should just suck it up because the women who owns the aggressive dog was older?

I am very sceptical that this is the first time this has happened with this dog and the fact she refused to give her details is what led to the situation in the first place.

I wouldn't call it a witch hunt, I'd call it a sensible request for help and if the women feels threatened then honestly so what? Her refusal to give her details and take ownership of the situation led to the owner having to try and track her down.

Reading between the lines, the woman with attacked dog was confrontational immediately after attack (understandable) and the elderly woman got scared.

She should pay. It’s not a witch hunt, it’a identifying an irresponsible dog owner.

Nobody actually knows if the dogs have never done it before, she could just be lying. She absolutely should have given her details to the other owner, and I can understand the owner now taking steps to track her down and hold her responsible. A witch hunt definitely shouldn’t be encouraged, but if she’s not going to take responsibility for her dogs actions and deal with it at the time then she has to expect repercussions

Similar happened recently where I live. A woman’s cat was killed in her own garden by a woman’s off lead dog. She said the same ‘oh it’s never happened before’ and refused to give details. The owner posted on Facebook to warn other cat owners in the area, and it turned out the same woman had let her dog do this 6 other times! Her and her family also complained about it being posted publicly, but they clearly have no shame and take no responsibility so they can’t be surprised

Yes the thought process here is she’s elderly and a granny so she should be allowed to get away with this. Unless she has dementia or something, then being elderly doesn’t excuse her behaviour. She needs to step up here. If she paid her dues she’s not have people trying to find her.

As long as it was independently witnessed and there is phone footage to prove it, the owner of the off lead dog should morally be responsible for vet bills.

But if there isn't independent witnesses, then how do you know that what is said on FB is true? Things get very quickly blown out of all proportion.

It is very straightforward. The law states that owners are responsible for harm and damage caused by their dogs, but not by their cats. She is responsible and needs to pay. She should not have run away. Being old isn’t an excuse.

That said, verbally abusing someone is unacceptable and, if this is the cause of them feeling fearful and running away (which sounds likely) then there are mitigating circumstances.

People who weren’t there and aren’t connected to either party shouldn’t get involved.

And what does her being elderly have to do it with. She ran away like a slimy crook when her dog attacked and caused harm to another! Good, I absolutely loathe these people who leave their dogs off lead and think they have them under control.

If the woman with the off lead dog isn't willing and able to take responsibility for this sort of incident maybe it's time to stop being a dog owner. It's a massive commitment with a lot of responsibility and not something everyone can cope with.

That said, verbally abusing someone is unacceptable and, if this is the cause of them feeling fearful and running away (which sounds likely) then there are mitigating circumstances.

I'm not sure you can call getting angry or upset at someone whose dog has just attacked yours as being verbally abusive. Isn't that how most people would react in that situation? Or was the owner of the attacked dog meant to be chilled and laid back about her dog getting hurt?

I agree with this. Plenty of people post about dogs being attacked and warning others on social media. You cant not accept responsibility or payment for something your dog did just on the basis you are over a certain age.

I also dont believe this is the first time either. No sympathy for the older woman- it's horrific when your dog is attacked, I've been in that situation and I was very scared- what about the poor woman whose dog was attacked?- I am sure she was scared too, as was her poor dog.

Well it's not a Witch Hunt because an accusation of performing Witchcraft was totally unjust and absolutely unfounded.

The person with the off lead dog should step up and accept their responsibilities and pay the vet fees.

And always have their dog on a lead in public henceforth.

Just because she's old doesn't mean she can get away with her dog injuring another dog

This

@DogsBehavingWrongly it’s like a lot of things. People should do the right thing - i.e. take responsibility.

It is not wrong to ask for help identifying someone - a post asking people who might know to message the person privately. But what tends to happen is bystanders take sides - a bit like here on MN - when they didn’t see what actually happened. Locally a school bus driver’s photo was plastered over SM because someone’s kid got told to get off a bus supposedly for bad behaviour. I still don’t know whether driver was guilty/child innocent or vice versa or 50:50 because I wasn’t there. But what followed (driver’s photo, name and address on SM and people threatening him) was completely unacceptable - and the child’s parent was responsible for that at least in part even if it was not intended.

Have to consider the consequences.

None of this prevents the elderly dog owner from messaging the other owner and setting things straight. But it will be hard to stop people getting involved when it doesn’t concern them 🤷🏻‍♀️

If your dog hurts someone else’s then the only decent thing to do is to hand over your details.

Hounding on sm is awful but it wouldn’t have been necessary to find her if she had done the correct thing in the first place.

^ This.

She needs to pay the vet bill IF the dog has been injured/needed veterinary attention.
I’ve yanked dogs off my elderly dogs back end, it’s painful for him. I’ll have a go at the owner too. Keep your ill mannered dog away from my golden boy!

For me it would depend on the circumstances of the attack and how the confrontation that followed played out.

The SM shit is wrong regardless

The lady whose dog was attacked should have called the police / local dog warden and dealt with it through the official channels.

She should not have whipped up a mob on Facebook.

Can you show that law? I ask as my dog was attacked in similar circumstances and no one would do anything. The dog warden or the police, thankfully a local vet sorted my dog out for nothing.
Then a friends dog was in a fight (the other owner claimed their dog was attacked ) and the insurance company said no it was not provable that one dog was solely to blame so their vet bills were theirs alone.

I've seen these types of posts and comments on Facebook, and they turn horribly nasty. I can't imagine being on the other end of it.

If the poster is genuinely just trying to find the person, they could turn comments off and ask to be privately messaged.