Please or to access all these features

Add post

Watch this thread

Save thread

Start a new thread

Flip thread

Hide thread

My feed

Active Unanswered threads

Getting started FAQ's

Unanswered threads Acronyms Talk guidelines

Hide shortcut buttons

Talk

The doghouse

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

Flip

Original poster

Dog was attacked.

23 replies

worriereirrow · 02/12/2022 12:25

Hi! I'm about to do some Googling but I'm just asking to see if anyone else has been through similar. My mothers dog was attacked yesterday by another dog. Both dogs were on a lead, my mums dog is a small French bulldog and the other dog was a very large racing type looking dog (description from my mum).

The other dog pulled away from the owner who lost grip of its lead and it ran about 100m over to my mum and started attacking our dog. Luckily it wasn't too bad but it's cost £250 at the vet as they have had to give antibiotics and patch up the wounds on her back to stop infection.

The woman who's dog came and attacked my mums just came and got the dog once it lost grip and quickly hurried away without saying a word. They live in a large gated community of apartments and there is CCTV in most areas. What grounds do we have to do something about this? My mum was screaming so loud that people came out of their apartments to check everything was okay which it wasn't. She is so shaken and upset about the dog. Plus the money which I believe the lady who's dog attacked us should reimburse.

Are there any laws or is this just one of those things of owning a dog? I could never walk away from someone visibly upset and a dog that was bleeding knowing my pet had caused it. She didn't even ask if my mum or the dog were okay. I'm fuming to be honest! Any advice? Thank you

OP posts:

tabulahrasa · 02/12/2022 13:05

Legally - yep it’s against the law to have a dog out of control on a public area, and she would be liable for the vet bill.

But... the police are usually fairly unlikely to do anything about a dog on dog attack and the vet fees would be a civil issue anyway.

You could try logging it with the police so there’s a record of it if anything else happens in the future, you could try the dog warden if you still have one.

Tbh if my dog had managed to get loose and attacked another one, my first reaction would be to get my dog away as quickly as I could in case it started again. I wouldn’t be hanging around, if I could I’d secure my dog and go back to check... but I wouldn’t be hanging around to give my dog a chance to go again...

ShouldIknowthisalready · 02/12/2022 13:06

No laws but she can claim through the small claims court. Get a report from vets they are usually happy to say what causes the injuries, any witnesses will help her case. I guess the hardest bit will be identifying the owner of the dog if they deny it happens

Sprouttreesareamazing · 02/12/2022 13:06

Reporting to the Council dog warden is the procedure.

ShouldIknowthisalready · 02/12/2022 13:08

No laws on out of control dogs on other dogs unless assistance dogs.

You will have to prove negligence on the part of the owner. If you need more info I can search out the cases and precedents that will back your case

ShouldIknowthisalready · 02/12/2022 13:08

Dog warden will do nothing!

Sprouttreesareamazing · 02/12/2022 13:12

It will go on record. Building up a case against the owner is vital.

Badger1970 · 02/12/2022 13:14

Police won't do anything if it's dog on dog. Personal experience, sadly.

I'd personally go for the social media approach - someone will tell you who they are. Someone did that locally yesterday and was given the owners name in moments... who then furiously untagged themselves!! But it may stop them walking in that place again.

Seaweedandsalt · 02/12/2022 13:18

Back in 1997 my horse was attacked whilst we round over a public waste ground/common by an out of control dog, horse was bitten, the dog had no recall and the owner couldn't steer it away from my horse. The horse eventually kicked the dog and it lay bleeding with what looked like a broken jaw, a couple of people who's garden backed onto the common saw the commotion and came out with spades to hit the dog over the head to make it let go. The owner was screaming at me saying he was going to sue me. Anyway long and short I reported what happened to the police that night, they said it could have been a child the dog attacked and if I was to see it again, I had to ring 999 immediately and they'd come out and seize it.

Like others have said, its illegal to have an out of control dog.

ShouldIknowthisalready · 02/12/2022 13:19

Sprouttreesareamazing · 02/12/2022 13:12

It will go on record. Building up a case against the owner is vital.

But this will not help the OP. The Dog warden will not say if the owner or dog has been in trouble before due to data protection and they are highly unlikely to prosecute or bring dog orders themselves.

tabulahrasa · 02/12/2022 13:24

ShouldIknowthisalready · 02/12/2022 13:08

No laws on out of control dogs on other dogs unless assistance dogs.

You will have to prove negligence on the part of the owner. If you need more info I can search out the cases and precedents that will back your case

The law is that if you have reasonable fear of the dog biting you then it’s out of control, sometimes the police will take the view that it’s reasonable to be scared you might get injured while your dog who is attached to you is attacked... usually they don’t though.

Original poster

worriereirrow · 02/12/2022 13:25

Thanks everyone, the issue I have is that the lady most likely lives in the same compound as it's private land which could make it difficult and it's the only greenery on site so anyone who has a dog walks it along this bit. It's huge but still, the only area of green. Im now worried in case it happens again and my mum is really upset about this too. I did doubt that the police would do anything and to be honest I can see why it wouldn't be too of their list. I will see if there is a dog warden in the area

OP posts:

Original poster

worriereirrow · 02/12/2022 13:27

Just to add, my mum was knocked over in the process of this happening. She's not old, late 50s but she lives alone and I just know it will make her anxious of it happening again or bumping into the woman. She is very non confrontational

OP posts:

2bazookas · 02/12/2022 13:53

Identify the dog and owners address then provide those details when you notify police and press charges.

kingsleysbootlicker · 02/12/2022 14:00

By 'racing type' does she mean greyhound? I don't know if it's the same where you are, but in NI all sighthounds must be muzzled in public spaces by law, which would then give you grounds to complain officially

2bazookas · 02/12/2022 14:09

the other dog was a very large racing type looking dog (description from my mum).

Possibly this was a retired racing greyhound, adopted from one of the umpteen a charities that rehome retired rGH's.

All new owners are warned that the retired racing GH has been trained to chase and attack small animals (fake electric rabbit on the race circuit) Therefore when out in public, it must always be not just on lead, but MUZZLED to avoid incidents. When we adopted a retired racer, we had to sign a contract agreeing to that condition.

Original poster

worriereirrow · 02/12/2022 14:17

@2bazookas @kingsleysbootlicker

Wow I did not know that! Thank you for that info. I can't be sure it was a greyhound but she said it was very slim but large so sounds quite like them. I will see if I can tell from the CCTV if we can get it.

OP posts:

Original poster

worriereirrow · 02/12/2022 19:56

Hi everyone I have an update if anyone can help! So I came to where my mum lives tonight to see if I could find the lady walking her dog and I did! I asked her if her dog had an altercation yesterday and she admitted it. I asked her if we could exchange details and she refused, she then said she would put her dog back at home and then come and speak to me but it's clear she isn't coming back. What can I do? The injuries are quite bad and next time it could be a child. I saw the dog and it isn't a greyhound, it's an American Bulldog and quite obviously a lot bigger and stronger than our Frenchie but she's quite heavy, if it was an even smaller dog or puppy I would be surprised if it would even survive!

OP posts:

Original poster

worriereirrow · 02/12/2022 20:13

She came back! Details exchanged and she was very apologetic. Thank you for all advice

OP posts:

RandomMess · 02/12/2022 20:26

Please speak to the dog warden. They can put an enforcement order that a muzzle must be worn etc.

pilates · 01/02/2023 07:04

Hey op how’s your mum’s dog? Did the other lady reimburse your mum for vet fees?

oakleaffy · 22/05/2023 10:33

worriereirrow · 02/12/2022 19:56

Hi @worriereirrow
I saw your thread under the American Bulldog / XL Bullies killing people
When your mum thought it was a Greyhound that did surprise me as normally ex racers that are selected for rehoming are very tractable and good with other dogs, and you saying what it really is makes perfect sense
Dog aggressive and owner who cannot control it
DEFINITELY report to dog warden and police.

If you can, get a few photograph of the dog to help identify it.

These dogs are dangerous to other dogs and people due to their aggression and size.

oakleaffy · 22/05/2023 10:34

pilates · 01/02/2023 07:04

Hey op how’s your mum’s dog? Did the other lady reimburse your mum for vet fees?

It would be good if she did- but I doubt it.

Spanielsarepainless · 22/05/2023 13:23

An ex-racing greyhound attacked my dog. Managed to track down the owner and came to an agreement about payment of the vet bill. DH was telling someone about it and his dog had been attacked by the same dog but didn't know where owner lived. Greyhound man ended up paying his vet bill too. I wrote a very polite but firm letter, which was how we got the money. If your dog is insured, the insurers will pursue the other owner, so perhaps point that out. Perhaps point it out even if it isn't insured! You have witnesses, which is helpful.

Flip

Swipe left for the next trending thread