I feel uncomfortable with some of the comments too- I understand that people are worried about a backlash, but to blame the family, whom we know nothing about and who have just lost a child isn't right either.

We know very little of the circumstances surrounding this little boys death so to speculate on here is cruel and unhelpful.

What same things?, what is the answer, as we have already seen the DDA is useless, people flout the law, we have a this problem, (countrywide) of ilegal/ aggressive dogs, being bred for status symbols and aggression........

How do we stop that!!!!!!!!,



I agree its is the owners /breeders who are to blame, but I do believe some of these breeds, are still very primitive in their breeding, and yes in experienced hands they can be "safe" and controlled, but sadly there is no law to say who is the right owner for such dogs, and as we see , they can be owned by any member of Joe public... and then its when you get to see the horrific results.

What has the KC got to do with this, how on earth can they be held accountable for ilegal and unregistered dogs!!!!


I also read that, but to be honest, not sure how the police can be blamed for not investigating some one "breeding dogs" its not an offence to breed your dog........

Yes, completey agree with this!!


Thats the trouble Shona, it has killed a person, be it a child or not, and although I do NOT blame the dog, there is no other outcome for this dog...

The KC is a volentory organisation, it is NOT a legal requirement , yes they will register xbreeds on their activity register, but they dont seek them out, it is down to the owner to join the club!

Yes they could use their voice in lobbying the government for tighter legalisation, but again, its down to the owners/breeders of these dogs to "join" the KC, it is not mandatory... they cant police what they do not have any control over?


But the dogs in question are not a reconised breed, so how can they register a non reconised breed on their "pedigree" register, if they were registering on the obiendece or activity register, they would not be the dogs that we are seeing in the papers.....because they would be owned by responsble owners.


Yes thy could add their voice, but nothing else, they have no power to implicate any such laws.

They are a volentory club, one were members volunteer to join,

The dog was killed and I believe that was right but while people continue to have breed prejudice these thing will continue to happen.

Most of the Pit Bull types being paraded up and down are just that Type not all one breed but mostly crosses to achieve the most important thing "the look."

So what is the point in talk of banning yet more breeds or even taking any steps that are breed specific.

Owners and breeders of all dogs regardless of breed should be the ones who should take responsibility and take a part in making sure their dog is not a danger or nuisance to everyone else.

Some of the comments in this thread sit very uncomfortably with me. Firstly it is my opinion that sadly there was no other outcome for the dog other than to be put to sleep as it had attacked and killed a child.

Now, let me then go on to say that in my opinion a dog never attacks without reason, wether that reason would be deemed acceptable in human eyes or not is another story but for that dog to attack and kill IT had a reason. Sadly we will never know the reason. This process is imo displayed by every breed pedigree cross or total heinz 57.

Yes it is wrong to make assumptions about a family we do not know, but it is equally wrong to make assumptions about a dog we do not know. The papers whip everything up in a frenzy and truths become lost in propagand twists.

Why was the child up at nidnight? Was the child ill or upset (could this have prompted a reaction from the dog),, I sthe dog normally caged around children but kid was in bed so running free? did the adults know the child was awake and up? Had the child teased the dog prior to this tragic event? Was the dog abused or taught to be aggresive? Was the dog ill and in pain? Did the child think it was a good idea to cuddle up next to the sleeping dog who awoke in fear?Did the child startle the dog with some noisy toy or similar? Where were the adults when the attack took place? Why did the police not investigate thoroughly complaints of aggresive dogs(if this is indeed correct info)

All of these questions and more need to be answered truthfully but sadly the general public will never know the answers and sadder still even if they did most would not see the connection between a dog attack and an upset child cuddling into an unsupervised sleeping dog.

It is tragic this child has lost his life. However although I do believe dogs have a mind of their own and their own will it is how humans shape them through training, through fear, through kindness or through neglect that make or break the dog. Yes some breeds do need a more experienced owner than others because of their sheer strength and tenacity to task (whatever that task may be) and I do not have an anaswer for the question how can that be controlled or policed. But to say a dog or anything for that matter should be clubbed to death irrespective of wether you have a gun or not is imo wrong, as I suspect there are very few of us who have access to a legally held firearm.

And Iwill add here that I know first hand what a dog attack is like as when I was in Primary six I was attacked by a collie I still bear the scars on my throat and cheek and lip. I remember the pain the fear and the screams. The dog was destroyed and one more statistic and no answer as to why it happened. Would I or my parents have clubbed that dog to death absolutely NOT. had I been 4 would that collie have killed me? I think quite possibly as it was a determined attack going for throat and face.

The dog not necessarily in this incident but sadly in many similar incidents is probably the result of a badly structured breeding programme to add fuel to the fire with looks more important than stability and little rgard if any for health problems going back in lines and aggression actively chosen - yes that is me making assumptions here about dogs and families I do not know but I am sure most of you can agree that this type of bredding goes on and an unpredictable dog (through no fault of its own) can be placed ina dangerous situation and then the dog is blamed for human c**k ups

Merseyside Police said an investigation was under way into the ownership of the dog and whether it was an illegal breed.

The force also revealed a complaint was made by a city housing officer last February about dog-breeding at the home, in Ash Grove, Wavertree. But a police call-centre operator told the caller it was "not a police matter" and the complaint was not followed up. Chief Superintendent Steve Ashton, area commander for South Liverpool, said the response was "incorrect" and a separate investigation would take place to find out why specialist "dangerous dog squad" officers did not visit the house.

cross posted from elsewhere.
I work for the ********(newspaper) and it was the headline for our paper the owner was a 21 year old boy who the police where notified about because of the dogs behavior towards any person in the area it was also claimed that there where phone calls about bad breeding in the house which where dismissed now the police are investigating why their was nothing done about the dog before due to the amount of complaints........
i personally think the boy was using it as a status dog from the information that has been put forward.
we will never know why the dog attacked the young boy, but I hope his family are going to get through this together


Mo

I do actually agree with your post but wanted to know did you do anything to cause the collie to attack you? or was it just out of the blue?


What we need
Good non-breed specific dangerous dog laws
♦ Canine safety educational programs in the schools
♦ Responsible canine ownership classes offered to all pet owners
♦ Free or low cost spay/neuter programs. The overwhelming majority of fatal attacks involve intact male
dogs. There is also a huge pet overpopulation problem plaguing the uk.
Animal control officers
♦ training for Animal Control officers
♦ funding for Animal Control so they have the staffing to follow up on complaints

Mo

Theres something on 'This Morning' (ITV) in a minute about dangerous dogs

Mo as far as I am aware I did nothing, I was in the living room unsupervised(but I was 11) with the dog, who we had had for 3 or 4 years from the age of 18 months, lying infront of the fire I reached to the table for the tv remote and the dog flew at me. Was he asleep and I startled him? was there something in the infa red the remote gave off? Had he been previously been abused? I don't know but I do believe he had a reason.

thanks for the honest reply.

Mo

Totally agree,when are people going to stop focusing on breeds,breed is irrelevant in my opinion.

The focus should be on the ownership and breeding of the dogs,breeder's, owners and parents should be held accountable for their dogs actions regardless of the breed.

Charges against an owner whose dog inflicts serious injury / death should be brought.

There is absolutely no point in adding more breeds to an already waste of time,unworkable ,unenforceable piece of useless legislation which has shown time and time again to fail.