I agree. But they should not be relying on the fact it may or may not be illegal.

The suggestion it was an American Bull Dog was on our local news

I wonder if we will ever know what breed or type it is...

I know someone who has two American bulldogs and I don't like either of them. Far too unpredictable around other animals and would definately not trust them with children.

Ahh ok, i misunderstood what you meant

Now THAT is the problem..people to quick to jump on the breed bandwagon.
DEED not BREED and all that.
I know some lovely AB's and some not so nice GR's..does that make me not like GR's? ...no, because i judge each dog as an individual.

Oh yes lets keep it alive, maybe then can breed it again.

Poor dear child.

I appreciate your point and I also agree with Malcolm Gladwell when he says that most severe dog attacks are the perfect storm (wrong dog with the wrong owner in the wrong place at the wrong time) however the better we understand the structure and causes of such attacks then the better we can frame our efforts to avoid them including our legislation.

Currently the only preventative aspect to our dog laws rests on BSL - which is not exactly universally accepted as effective (or even rational).

The KC is campaigning for stautory powers encompassing all dog breeding. Others are campaigning for competency testing of all dog owners.

Labradork suggested earlier that the problem lay in poor genetics or poor handling or both.

You can be sure that, in the wake if this attack, there will be calls for government to take action. Whether that action is needed and what direction it should be depends on an accurate understanding of the problem. An understanding that is hampered by discarding the evidence before it is examined.

I agree that a swift death is probably kindest for the animal involved and possibly for the family of the victim but it's certainly not kinder for the next victim if they could have been saved by lessons learned this time around.

And there will be a next victim. If we keep doing the same things then the same things wil keep happening.

possibly its the somone who is wrong, many people go out and get dogs they really cant cope with, possibly if you met the right someone with the breed you would love them,

we dont have many of them round this way, the ones I have met have been ok from what I have seen of them.

I know a male American Bulldog. The owner is responsible and knows what she's doing. They dog is great and plays happily with my two small dogs, especially my Roxy, without any problems. He always gets on well with other dogs in the park and people. He's not a problem. Then there is a small terrier that comes to the park who is out to get every dog it meets and has to be kept on a lead. Whose fault is that? The owners, pure and simple.

It's almost always the people who are the problem, IMO. Anyone can get a dog, whatever breed it is, and train it to become aggressive. They then breed this dog and so it continues, gradually getting worse. Then, ultimately, things like this happen. It's all down to human failure; ignorance, negligence, stupidity, carelessness and irresponsible behaviour. Call it what you like, it all means the same. They pick the dog for it's strength and looks and what will make them look hard.

Some people just shouldn't have dogs, or any animal for that matter, let alone children. It's all so sad.

When is this going to end? It's just getting worse! It's about time stricter rules regarding keeping dogs and dog licences were put in place. The police and the KC should get their a*ses in gear and work together to sort this out. However, they are not.

The police were warned in February about breeding etc in the premises, yet they failed to act and that goes against what they would and should have done. They admitted that themselves on the news tonight.

All this is down to human failure and the dog is a victim to it's own success, sadly.


JMO, of course. Sorry if it's sounds daft, but it's what I think anyway.

Er, no. Sometimes they can be payed/neutered, assessed, trained and hopefully rehomed to a suitable home with people who know what they're doing. Each case should be judged on it's own facts and action taken accordingly.

Afterall, humans do much, much worse in the UK and they aren't destroyed, though they bloody well should be! Sometimes they life quite a comfortable life behind bars and attempts are made to rehabiliate them!

Yes, I feel so sad for the child. But the boy's life was taken because of human failure. Failure of both the child and the dog.

Im not really sure that all of the above would be do-able, you know me, Im all for helping dogs with issues, but this dog killed a child, even if it could be trained and rehomed, who would take that dog? I wouldnt have a dog that killed a child.