Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. A phone that grows with your child.

Meet the Other Phone.
A phone that grows with your child.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
The doghouse

If you're worried about your pet's health, please speak to a vet or qualified professional.

Original poster

Did I do the right thing reporting this dog?

34 replies

SkinnyGirlBethany · 01/11/2011 16:33

Hi,
I live in the countryside but on an estate. To get to the estate you have to drive down a windy road. I also run regularly. There are a row of houses on the road.

I am a keen runner and whilst running down said road a large (pitbull type) dog runs up to me and scares the shit out of me barking etc (must have escaped from one of the houses).

Anyway I edge round it and never run that way again- however since then I have seen said dog loose on the same road (nearly getting run over) 4 times in 6 months.

So when I saw it last week nearly get run over again I called the police (as it could belong to 1 of 3 houses and I don't know which)

Was that the right thing to do?

OP posts:
Original poster
SkinnyGirlBethany · 01/11/2011 16:34

Oh and I have grown up with dogs and loved them, this one thou scared the shite out of me!

OP posts:
MollyTheMole · 01/11/2011 17:00

"Pitbull type" Sad its never just "a dog" is it?

Anyway, if it was me and if I was genuinely concerned about the dogs safety Id take the time it spent to report it to the police and instead knock on the grand total of three houses to find the owner and let them know I think their do gmight have escaped.

If I reported it to the police Id be too concerned that they would just get the warden to pick the dog up, if its a "pitbull type" then they may also define it as "type" and it could be PTS even though its done nothing wrong

Original poster
SkinnyGirlBethany · 01/11/2011 17:11

I didn't knock on the door as the only time I have ever ran past the house the dog was loose. I reported it to the police describing it as a big black dog. It's the same size and shape as a pitbull as my friend has them which is why I described it as pitbul type.

I'm not going to park walk to the house with my toddler and baby if it could scare them/ or for all I know go for them. I am not scared usually of dogs, but how do you react when a dog runs up to you aggressively barking and growling? What do you do?

OP posts:
toboldlygo · 01/11/2011 17:25

Are you in the UK?

Original poster
SkinnyGirlBethany · 01/11/2011 17:30

Yes Cheshire

OP posts:
MollyTheMole · 01/11/2011 17:32

Id knock on the three houses and find the owner to let them know their dog had escaped, they might not know if its in the garden and gets out. partly because as I say Id be worried that they would overreact, and partly because, on the other hand, they may not care and not do anything about it

RitaMorgan · 01/11/2011 17:34

When you say pitbull do you mean a staffy?

I'd have reported it too if they let it run loose/"escape" regularly.

MollyTheMole · 01/11/2011 17:35

If your friend has pitbulls then they are illegally keeping them.

Original poster
SkinnyGirlBethany · 01/11/2011 17:41

Sorry yes staffy dog but it was hip height. Thing is this country road is off a really busy main road.

OP posts:
DogsBestFriend · 01/11/2011 17:45

What did the Police do and/or say to you Skinny?

DogsBestFriend · 01/11/2011 17:53

And btw, if your friend has told you that they own Pits they are almost without doubt lying. If their "Pits" are also hip height, they are definitely lying. WHAT YOU SAW WAS NOT A PIT OR A PIT TYPE, OK?

It takes a court case and several expert witnesses to pronounce a dog to be a Pit or a Pit type. There is NO definitive test and pronouncing a dog to be a PBT or PBT type is NOT an exact science. Even for the experts.

Original poster
SkinnyGirlBethany · 01/11/2011 17:54

Well I rang the community pcso number and they said they would do an intelligence report and to ring if I saw it immediately next time. I rang a few hours after as I have a newborn and toddler so have to feed etc when I get in.

OP posts:
DogsBestFriend · 01/11/2011 17:56

Correction - it was NOT a Pit or Pit type unless you happen to suffer from stunted growth and your hips are considerably closer to the ground than that of the average woman in the UK, which I presume they aren't.

MollyTheMole · 01/11/2011 17:58

a staffy at hip height? Christ thats a big staffy

Original poster
SkinnyGirlBethany · 01/11/2011 17:59

I am sorry I got the sort of dog wrong- I would have done the same if it had been a sheep dog.

The description I gave the police was big black dog- like the one from that turner and hooch film.

In my opinion it's not the breed of dog that makes it good or bad but the handler.

OP posts:
Original poster
SkinnyGirlBethany · 01/11/2011 18:03

Right googled and think it's an American bull terrier

OP posts:
MollyTheMole · 01/11/2011 18:04

Agree with your last line OP which is why I jumped on to your description of the dog.

I just knew you were talking about a SBT in your OP. I have an SBT and I get very defensive and shirty when they are described as pitbulls or in this instance, a totally different bloody breed. They have a very undeserved bad rep as it is so it riles me a bit when people assume a big scary dog they have seen is a SBT, it just fuels the fire even more.

Am just explaining why I have been a bit 'off' here.

DogsBestFriend · 01/11/2011 18:15

Right, now I will tell you a few more things OP.

  1. I really thought you were a troll and had to do a name check to see if this was a first post.
  1. I'm still not sure that you're not having me on.
  1. You did NOT do the right thing. The law in the UK states that the police have not - for about 3 years now - had ANY responsibility for stray dogs. And this is what this fella is - a STRAY dog. The ONLY time the Police get involved is when there is an offence being committed under the Dangerous Dogs Act. Strays of the type you mention do not come under this category...

... UNLESS they are being dealt with by an over-zealous police officer or one with a poor understanding of the law and your impression of what a Pit or Pit type is.

Sadly there are far too many of those about.

  1. What you SHOULD have done, in accordance with the law, is to have contacted the Environmental Health dept of your local council who will refer the matter to the dog warden. If you know where the dog comes from and this is a repeated problem then the DW and/or the local housing officer if the home he lives in is social housing, plus the council's anti social behaviour department can and will take action. So, longer term, that's how to deal with the matter.
  1. So what IF the dog is a Pit or "Pit Type"? It didn't hurt you or attempt to do so. Are you insinuating that it is more likely to do so because you thought it was a Pit type?

Would you have come on here telling us all about the guy's colour if you'd been mugged and the mugger was a black Jamaican? Do you think you'd have got away with it for long before someone told you that you were racist and the guy's colour or country of origin was irrelevant?

Sorry I sound arsey but I am sick of dog bashers and sick of those who think or insinuate that a dog is a danger because of his breed and sick too of all these amateur pit bull terrier identifiers. All you have done is told some uppity Plod that you KNOW that this dog is a Pit (which as I said, unless you're a dwarf he definitely ain't) and have potentially condemned a perfectly innocent dog to death as a result of being seized because you and the Plod have decided that you know what a Pit or Pit type looks like. I fear this all the more given that Plod didn't tell you what you should do, which is report the stray to the council, not him. Between you, you could easily get this poor animal killed.

Nice one. Angry

However, I have given solid advice and told you how the law requires an individual to deal with a stray dog... by calling the council, for it is THEIR sole responsibility to collect strays unless they are dangerous.

RitaMorgan · 01/11/2011 18:25

Most people won't know the exact right person to contact about a loose dog. I'm sure the PCSO will be able to pass it on to the council. Lets not get hysterical.

DogsBestFriend · 01/11/2011 18:30

Oh BTW, if you want to know what I'd have done, particularly if I thought some idiot was going to pronounce the dog a Pit or type and kill him, I'll tell you. I'd have gone to great efforts to catch him. I'd have knocked on the doors of local houses to find the owner - and warn them of the risks of the dog being seized and killed as well as the risks of him being run over. I'd have taken the dog home with me if I caught him and couldn't locate the owner.

And I would have done that just as readily when my 2 DDs were a newborn and 19 months... and I HAVE done it... as I would now that they are older.

DogsBestFriend · 01/11/2011 18:33

I'm sure that the PCSO is unlikely to do anything of the sort, tbh, Rita.

I agree with you that shockingly not enough people know who to report a stray to BUT THE BLOODY PCSO SHOULD DO!

AND they should have advised the OP what to do, rather than write up an intelligence report.

saintlyjimjams · 01/11/2011 18:39

If it's been four times then yes something need to be done. Do people ride horses there? Loose dogs (any breed) are a bloody danger when they scare the shit out of horses. Once? It happens. Four times? Bloody dangerous. I own a dog btw.

Useful to know it should be environmental health but as Rita says I'm sure it will have been passed on. Maybe the op could phone up and check?

DogsBestFriend · 01/11/2011 18:47

No, no, no, I disagree!

The correct procedure would have been for the PCSO to say thanks for telling me, but you need to contact the Council, we don't deal in strays. However, he:

A. Did NOT advise the OP on how to deal with the problem.

B. Wrote an intelligence report instead. An IR is designed to record any information on a CRIME or suspicious criminal activity in the neighbourhood and ALL reports will be investigated.

Which makes me fear very much, as does much research, campaign work and knowledge of how inept the Police are and how badly they on the whole interpret the DDA, that the bloody PCSO has taken the OPs word for it that she has seen a Pit Bull in the area and that therefore the dog is now at risk of seizure. All it takes for a dog to be seized as a PBT "type" is for a Plod to consider the dog to be one.

As has been said before, the correct way to deal with this is via the council. My objective would be to have the owners warned of the consequences to themselves if they continued to allow the dog to stray. This can and should be done by reporting to the DOg Warden, to the ASBO department in the council and to the housing department if the dog has escaped from social housing.

musicposy · 01/11/2011 18:47

Can I just say something? If in future, you are running and a dog runs up to you, stop running. I don't know if you did that, but if you carry on you are asking for trouble.

DH runs and came back moaning the other day that a dog chased him. He said the owner was calling and calling but couldn't get it under control and eventually it lunged at his bottom Grin.

I asked if he stopped running and he said "no, I didn't want to ruin my time". I said it served him bloody well right and to stop the stopwatch next time! If you don't stop the dog will think you are playing a game, and will chase, unless they are very well controlled.

So many people blame the dog when they are just being idiots. Sad

saintlyjimjams · 01/11/2011 18:51

Well it's really not the op's fault if the pcso doesn't know the procedure? Maybe she can phone the council tomorrow. She said she told the police it was 'a big black dog' no mention of pitbulls.