oldwitch Posted May 12, 2007 Report Share Posted May 12, 2007 A cross breed dog aged 2 yrs. got out of the house when the wind blew the door open. He lunged at a passing neighbour and allegedly bit his shoulder. The owner was present and took the dog away. The police arrived last night and said the dog had to be taken away and put to sleep. Can they do this? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
suzeanna Posted May 12, 2007 Report Share Posted May 12, 2007 NO! if the person who was bitten puts in a complaint it will come before magistrates...if the dog has bitten before, they could order muzzling or pts...but the police cant just do that. My daughter's neighbours dog has bitten several people and killed one cat and badly hurt another and the police dont want to know! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ian Posted May 12, 2007 Report Share Posted May 12, 2007 I agree. You may find a copper sat there telling you that he would have the dog put to sleep, that the magistrates wont look kindly on it etc etc but you are perfectly within your rights to refuse to have the dog put to sleep. They will then have to pursue it in the magistrates court if they wish to proceed - at which point you can argue that muzzling for example is an option to destruction. Whether you would be likely to win obviously depends upon the circumstances & severity of the bite but you can certainly fight the fight. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blackmagic Posted May 12, 2007 Report Share Posted May 12, 2007 I think the police offer this as an alternative to going to court. ( saves them a lot of hassle) If the owner does not agree to hand over the dog, the case will have to go to court and the dog's future decided there. Depending on what act is used for the prosecution, legal aid may not be available. I think the police can get a warrant to take the dog into custody until the court case, if necessary. Advice can be had from Justice for Dogs Founder: Ann L M Harpwood Finloren Cottage, Weythel, Old Radnor Powys, LD8 2RR Telephone and Fax: 01544 370213 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ian Posted May 12, 2007 Report Share Posted May 12, 2007 I think the police offer this as an alternative to going to court. ( saves them a lot of hassle) Exactly but when your dogs life is at stake do you want to save the police the hassle? (I wouldnt) In order for them to go to court they will need evidence - ie from the neighbour who if it was a minor bite may well decide that they dont want the bad feeling which would inevitably occur after forcing you to have your dog pts. Unless it was a savage attack I'd stand my ground & see what happens! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Allie No Dots Posted May 12, 2007 Report Share Posted May 12, 2007 (edited) If the incident happened on public proerty then the police can seize the dog under section 3 of the DDA (dangerously out of control) They cannot pts without consent as others have said, they need to go to court. The owner should be making sure that measures are in place to ensure this does not happen again. Ok the door opened but if the dog got onto public proerty, does the fencing need looking at too? If the dog is aggressive towards strangers then a mzzle when out must be used. If owner approches police and explains this was an accident and that she (as a responsible person) has taken steps to ensure it doesnt happen again, they may well just warn her. If it does go to court and the owner has taken all the steps mentioned she will hopefully get a fine and maybe restrictions. Pts are rare normally. If this happened on private proerty however the police can do nothing. Edited to add terrible spelling (for once!) down to crap keyboard...must get new one! Edited May 12, 2007 by A.L.L.I.E. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldwitch Posted May 12, 2007 Author Report Share Posted May 12, 2007 thanks everyone for your advice and help. The dog has been taken from the owner even though she said she would have him castrated and muzzled and under control in public. She has not signed anything to have the dog pts and is taking legal advice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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