General Chat

mauled to death by a dog, it's so sad, my heart goes out to her parents.

bring back dog licencing, it might help keep track on what dogs are where, the licence used to cost 37.5 pence, Linda

Better still, make tagging compulsory. The license will not stop a dog attacking a child, niether will the tagging, but it might make people think twice about having a dog.

Just so so sad- Thoughts and prayers for the family. Mary in Spain xx

I think theres more to this story, Where were the parents? out I surpose! I would not leave my child in a house with a dog that was not familiar with the child grandmother or not!

Roxanne, I think you jumping to conclusions is a bit harsh, the little mite was having a sleepover at her grandmother's home where the uncle who owned the dog and the aunt also lived. Seems there was a dog pen in the garden. I had my son's girlfriends little boy stay over one New Year's Eve, as do many grandparents or relatives. Maybe she got up and came down in the early hours and disturbed the dog, who knows, she was just in the wrong place at the wrong time, no-one should blame the parents, but pity them and the grandmother who was badly injured trying to get the dog off the child.

I agree PP The parents had been out for the evening and my understanding is that they 'popped in' and all was fine so they left their little girl there for the night. However, I believe that the owner of the dog had allegedly been warned about its behaviour/temperament in the past.

My neighbours have a dog who sits at their back door barking whenever we pass. Its open plan, so the bloody thing often runs at my 6 yr old daughter, she's scared to death of it. Its so vicious, its owner can't control it. Theres an elderly lady with a little dog near me, and my neighbours dog always tries to attack it, poor thing. My daughter has some asian friends who wont come round to play, because they're terrified. In their culture, theyre not used to dogs so an evil thing like that doesnt help. But you can guarantee, the second it attacks someone, its owner will say 'Oh but it wasn't the dogs fault'.

Hi Rebekah Can't you report this dog to the Dogwarden or local Council? It sounds like an accident waiting to happen. Better safe than sorry. Liz

We did report it to the housing association where we live, never thought of the council to be honest. The H.A. aren't doing anything about it as it hasnt attacked anyone yet (!). We're trying to move away.

Which Housing Association are you with Rebekah? I used to live on a Housing Association estate in Coventry years ago and they were excellent. They had housing all over the country and had a head office elsewhere so that might be a starting point for you. Dogs that are known to be a problem are a menace, but it's the owners who are to blame for not dealing with the issue. My heart goes out to the family of this little girl, even her uncle who owned the dog. We don't know all the facts and all reasonable attempts may have been made to protect the tot (and Grandma, whom I understand was also injured) - we don't know so shouldn't judge. There are systems in place to do that already and there's no reason to suppose that there won't be a full and thorough investigation. Sadly, life has no guarantees.

Well its come out now that the dog has been known to attack before. Would you leave your child in that house with that dog knowing its history?? I certainly wouldnt. Its a sad story,I just hope others learn by this,but they never do,do they! Who knows what the history of this dog is,it could have been trained for illegal fighting,if thats the case the owner should be banned from ever keeping a dog again. I get sick of hearing about dangerous breeds, theres no such thing!only dangerous owners, who really dont give a damn! P.P sorry if you think Im harsh,but its happening too often,certain breeds get demonized because of stupid people,who really should never own a dog. My heart goes out for that child,but it could have been avoided.

If the dog has attacked before why was it still alive? It should have been put down as soon as it attacked someone. Gwynne

Hi Gwynne,Its not, it has been destroyed. But I agree, if it was known to be vicious it should not have been allowed in the house and should have been delt with earlier.

Hi Roxanne, Sorry if I wasn't clear - I mean it should have been put down after its first attack. Gwynne

Hi Gwynne, its me!!lol I didnt read your post properlylol

The dog had attacked a neighbour's dog but the child knew the dog. The local Council had sent out a warning letter - if there had been a real worry they should have done more about it, or the Police should have been involved by them or the neighbour. It is unfair to blame the parents, that is what I was getting at. I pity all of them - they have to live with this loss for ever more and pointing blame at them is not right. Liz

Hi Rebekah I think it would be wise to report the dog in question to the local Police. The Dangerous Dogs Act includes a clause that if a dog is dangerously out of control in a public place then the owner or the person in charge of the dog is guilty of an offence. I love dogs but the way some are kept makes me question the quality of their lives. For some, euthanasia can be a blessing. Bo x

According to the report I read, the parents called at the house at 3.40am to collect the child, but she asked if she could stay where she was.......... The dog's owner was obviously not on the premises. And the dog had previously been reported as having attacked at least one other dog........... Reg

Poor little mite, bless her. Just before Christmas I had a phone call to say that a dog was in our field attacking the sheep. I went outside and saw a lurcher cross running round the field. Unfortunately, I couldn’t get in the safe to get the gun out and it attacked two of my little lambs and continued to chase the rest. Luckily a friend of mine then arrived and chased after the dog, but lost it on the estate. I phoned the police and told them about it and that I had an idea whose dog it was but they couldn’t come round for a few days, so we went round to the owner but his wife wouldn’t let me see their dog. My concern was that the dog had ‘tasted’ blood and would be back to kill more of my sheep or even worse, attack their children or others. The police did make contact with me and were going to put the dog on the dangerous dogs list if I could identify it. I had a phone call from the police this morning to say that the owner had now sold the dog, so unfortunately cannot say for sure if it was his dog that had attacked my sheep. Worryingly though, if it wasn’t his dog that did the attacking, that dog is still about, but also someone has bought a dog that was possibly going to be put on the dangerous dogs list!! Jxx