Man walks free after setting his dog on 12 year old boy

I'm not sure where this should be posted sorry...

I'll shut up and wait to hear what people think to this one as I can see both sides (but also know the rep of the area this guy comes from which makes me a little biased!)

http://www.thestar.co.uk/news?articleid=5118575

I don't think the man should of been taunted by these youths, but I also don't think he should of set his dog on him either.
Suppose if it is done to you day in day out something does snap though. There was the paragraph about him being dishonest so hard who to know who to believe really.

Can't get it to load, anyone else having problems. Think it's probably me, having lots of probs on Dogsey

Setting a dog on a child can never be justified. I can totally understand the problem with yobs, but scarring someone for life using a dog as a weapon isn't the answer to the problem. If the guy lives in a rough area, which I assume he does, potentially this could make the problems he has with the yobs far worse, not better.

it sounds like this man has been hounded by children,

Im not saying what happend is right, but I do see how it could happen, kids are not always the innocent victim.

Its a hard one to call, as actually I dont think he should have "set his dog on the youth" however on reading the comments from many of his supporters, there is some suggestion that the dog defended his owner rather than being set on the young boy.

That being the case then i think the outcome should have also been some punishment for the child too... I doubt very much whether the local residents would have banded together if they felt that this man was a threat, it sounds far more that this gang of children were doing as many appear to now and terrorising a neighbourhood, yet there is no punishment for them...

I wonder what the "child" did to this man for the dog to feel protective????

I can see he was being tormented by them, and how one could snap, but I am not sure about setting a dog onto someone, I think my fears would be that your teaching the dog that this is acceptable behaviour.

However children are not always the innocent.......but thats another story

He has my sympathy actually, although I guess setting a dog on a child is hardly the way to go about it.
If parents/police were allowed to tackle these children the problem would probably never arise.

i agree

its not fair to inflict their flesh on his mouth

This should have been addressed before it got to this stage - where were the police/authorities - i sympathise with the poor bloke, he should not have to put up with that harassment but setting the dog on them was not the right thing to do - he was probably at the end of his tether. All very well punishing the bloke but what about the "boy" in question.....