what justice system???

the police are only interested in speeding tickets, easy target. Sadly the police have lost the british public's respect for their lack of teeth in real situations!

As for the poor dog, it is the owner who needs putting down not the dog.

I know of a case where travellers were stealing dogs (sadly all too common these days). The police were told where the dog was but blatantly said they don't go into traveller sites. what?? get an office job or grow some and do the job you're paid for!

sorry, rant over but it makes me wild. Animal crime is on the increase and the authorities don't seem to care

i thought pepper sprays were illegal. Can you buy them OTC?

Actually I've no idea! I just read it on another post. It's not something I would want to use and have never made enquiries about so I'm not sure.

Absolutely agree with you. More so about the owner needing to be destroyed rather than the dog. I don't hold out much hope for that dog though, I suspect it's first reaction to another dog will be aggression and it would take a dedicated owner with good training skills to teach it differently.

Having said that agricultural animals still seem to get priority - horses, cows and sheep. Money talks obviously.

My dog is dog-reactive but the more I practice BAT the more he turns away when he sees another dog. Yesterday when he was out with my husband they were forced to walk past two dogs in a fairly narrow track and my dog (on a lead) just made a lack-lustre attempt at a lunge (as did the other dog - not on a lead) and then trotted off quite happily. It takes work - constantly.

Pepper sprays ARE illegal in the UK.
Of course you can buy them off the internet but should you be caught with one.....trouble.
Anything, when used for assault, becomes illegal. Even though for self defense, if you were found carrying something that seems unlikely to be used for it's normal use, you may be questioned on it.

http://ukinusa.fco.gov.uk/en/about-u...r/pepper-spray

I agree about BAT and basic dog management techniques. I only let my dog off lead in the forest when i am reasonably certain there are no other dogs around. As soon as i return to a path he goes back on the lead.

The Law:
Overview
It’s against the law to let a dog be dangerously out of control:
in a public place
in a private place where the dog isn’t allowed to be (eg a neighbour’s house or garden without permission)

The law applies to all dogs.

Some types of dogs are banned.

Out of control
Your dog is considered dangerously out of control if it:
injures someone
makes someone worried that it might injure them
A court could also decide that your dog is dangerously out of control if:

it injures someone’s animal
the owner of the animal thinks they could be injured if they tried to stop your dog attacking their animal.
Penalties
You can be fined up to £5,000 and/or sent to prison for up to 6 months if your dog is out of control. You may also not be allowed to own a dog in the future.

If you let your dog injure someone, you can be sent to prison for up to 2 years and/or fined.

If you deliberately use your dog to injure someone you could be charged with ‘malicious wounding’. The maximum penalty is 5 years in prison.

Banned dogs
In the UK, it’s against the law to own certain types of dog. These are the:

Pit Bull Terrier
Japanese Tosa
Dogo Argentino
Fila Braziliero

Whether your dog is a banned type depends on what it looks like, rather than its breed or name.

A police or council dog expert will judge what type of dog you have and whether it is (or could be) a danger to the public. Your dog will then either be:
released
kept in kennels while the police (or council) apply to a court
While you wait for the court decision, you’re not allowed to visit your dog.

It’s your responsibility to prove your dog is not a banned type.

If you prove this, the court will order the dog to be returned to you. If you can’t prove it (or you plead guilty), you’ll be convicted of a crime.

https://www.gov.uk/control-dog-public/overview

Sooooo the dog that attacked this dog would be judged 'dangerously out of control' wouldn't it? Therefore the police should indeed be looking for the alleged owner and prosecuting him.
Lets see what happens shall we, because I reckon he'll get away with it

Yes indeed, in this case the following would apply:

Your dog is considered dangerously out of control if it:
it injures someone’s animal
the owner of the animal thinks they could be injured if they tried to stop your dog attacking their animal.

Penalties
You can be fined up to £5,000 and/or sent to prison for up to 6 months if your dog is out of control. You may also not be allowed to own a dog in the future.

I still think he'll get away with it, it is only us numpties who care about our dogs who get the full force of the law applied to us whether necessary or not.
After my experience I have no time for the police or any of these other people that allegedly are there to stop stuff like this happening

Yes, I thought I was right.

I agree with your sentiments, but actually what this person did was the most sensible thing - although badly injured, the dog was not going to drop dead imminently, and what she did was very brave - risking getting beaten up by those thugs, or having that dog set on HER. She absolutely did the right thing, and I will not criticise her for it. This was the cool-headed, business-like and sensible thing to do - to help save other innocent dogs from a similar attack.