Dog attack - getting my confidence back

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Comments

  • a dog could be fast asleep  on the floor and some people would still fear injury.......so just someone fearing injury cannot be enough to make it an offfence.....

  • Can. I just get this straight? If I was to go and report a random dog who I saw across the other side of a field as being dangerous because that's how I felt the Police would be duty bound to go and prosecute the owner for having a dangerous dog? 

    Surely there must be some case law that's tested this to the understanding of what can ' reasonably ' be referred to as threatening behaviour? 

    If reality matched intention I'd know I was dreaming
  • I believe the legal wording is "Any occasion on which there are grounds for reasonable apprehension that a dog will injure any person". 

    Note the word reasonable. 

  • Trotting. Is the dog that you want to take to court for perceived threat...black by any chance?

  • The user and all related content has been deleted.
  • What a great debate, good humour as well. My opinion would be to seek out the woman and/ or husband and tell them never to let it happen again. Feel sorry for the dog personally, sounds like they have a complete ar*ehole as an owner. 

  • trotty image

    the issue of the chap on the bench is covered by the offence of common assault and the offender needs to intend to cause "apprehension of violence" or be reckless to the possibility. check the offences against the person act, s47 (although the offence is a common law offence and s47 only refers to sentencing).

    in the case of dogs, there's no such requirement for intent and, while the word "reasonable" is key, you have to remember that in interpreting that word the courts will take into account all the circumstances including that of the disposition of the person feeling threatened. as i said - you must take your victim as you find him.

    s3 dangerous dogs act.

    and don't confuse what feels Just (ie common sense) with what actually is the law and how it will be applied in court.

    have fun all image

  • The word reasonable is key. It's what keeps you guys in a jobimage

  • no offence taken Flob - it's an interesting discussion. image

    all is good as far as I'm concerned and let's hope the original situation doesn't put our heroine off running.

  • My Mum was bitten by two dogs a few months ago while out running, so now she is very scared of dogs running up to her, because she doesn't know if they will bite or not. She is 67 years old, less than 5 foot tall, with osteoporosis (brittle bones). If a middling-sized dog jumps up at her, even 'being friendly', she could easily be knocked to the ground and break bones.



    The Dangerous Dogs act https://www.gov.uk/control-dog-public says that 'Your dog is considered dangerously out of control if it... makes someone worried that it might injure them', which could be 'just' knocking over rather than biting.
  • Reporting is all well and unless you are on private land in which case the police won't be interested. .
  • it's all about the circumstances and reasonable. it's impossible to say what would and would not be an offence Flob. the  key is that the dog must be under control at all times in a public place. and the test for whether it is under control is the reasonable apprehension of violence.

    an alsatian sprinting towards you chasing a ball you've not seen might reasonably induce the fear that the dog was going to attack while a tiny dog jumping up is an irritation but hardly scary.

    it's about all the circumstances and the easiest thing is just to keep your dog on a lead in a public place.

  • Trotski comes across like some telesales PPI salesperson. Winding up people to think they can claim against a barking dog. I would hang up on him.

  • Flob,

    You're spot on, it's patently ridiculous. Exactly the same as saying that if you feel threatened by the very sight of a youth in a hoodie then the youth should immediately be imprisoned.

  • just because you think you know the law doesn't mean that you do.

    i can do far better than quote fragments of the law but i can't be arsed and frankly, i'm bored of giving it all away for free. you can pay next time you need legal advice.

    as above - just because the law doesn't meet your idea of common sense doesn't mean you're right.

  • Sorry I don't even have PPI. Please don't call againimage

  • RicFRicF ✭✭✭
    TrottingAlong wrote (see)

     - just because the law doesn't meet your idea of common sense doesn't mean you're right.

    Bearing in mind that we have to legislate for the actions of idiots, its odds on that if you ignore a law because it doesn't fit your own view of the world, then you're probably wrong.

    Unfortunately, an entire generation has grown up in positions of authority who also have no respect for the rule of law. This stems from the time when as students they were arrested and charged for drug use during protests. 

     

    🙂

  • Getting back to dogs - I had an incident with a dog (ugly Staffy type thing) last year. When the idiot owner - almost as ugly and as stupid as the dog, failed to call it off as it launched towards me, I shouted "call it off" - which he didn't. I asked him to control his mutt and I just got a torrent of abuse which I retorted to in a more articulate manner. I think bad dog owners get abusive as they are feel some sort of guilt and "transfer" this to the other party in much the same way that people in road rage incidents blame the other and swear at them when they are the guilty party.

  • I have both sides as a runner and dog owner, never really had a problem with dogs while out running though and it doesnt bother me if they run up to me. If they were aggressive or bit me then I would restrain the dog and probably the owner too.

    I own a lunatic of a parsons jack russell she is long legged and runs like a whippet, sometimes when she runs up to people in the park she can be a bit scary as she comes up really fast. We generally control here when small kids are about as she could jump up and scratch them or something.  It's just about common sense and not letting your dog pester people.

    Does she run up to people? yeah sometimes, but she is being friendly and she also comes back when called.

    I did once have an incident where a women was walking her little terrier thing on the pavement and I was coming up to her from behind. I managed to swerve the dog but it ran right out in front of me with her lead taking up the whole pavement.

    The owner yanked the dog back to her as I came past and it yelped. She then accused me of kicking her dog as I ran by, I didn't touch the dog and had to almost jump over it at one point.

    Anyway don't be afraid of the dog be afraid of the owner, any dog no matter how big or small should be controlled around the public. Sometimes you can't always control your dog in terms of it running up to people but recognise when they arent happy about it and call it back.

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