is it time to make it harder for people to own dogs

[maca]

Dogs bred' at fatal attack house




Police have admitted they did not take action after receiving a report of dog breeding at the Liverpool house where a four-year-old boy was mauled to death.
John Paul Massey was killed by a dog at the property in Ash Grove, Wavertree, just after midnight.
His grandmother, Helen Foulkes, 63, was injured while trying to save the child and has been treated in hospital.
Merseyside Police said it had a report of dog breeding in February and was investigating why no action was taken.
It said the lack of action was "contrary to policy".
The animal which killed the boy was shot by armed officers in the front garden of the house.
An investigation is continuing to establish whether it was a breed deemed illegal under the Dangerous Dogs Act.

Residents: 'These dogs should not be allowed to be on the streets'

Ch Supt Steve Ashley, of Merseyside Police, said: "In February this year a housing officer rang Merseyside Police to say they had received complaints of dog breeding at the address.
"At that time the police said it wasn't a police matter and no action was taken by Merseyside Police.
"That is contrary to our policies and an investigation is now launched into exactly what happened in February."
Ch Supt Ashley said an officer who is an expert on dangerous dogs should have spoken to the person who was concerned and, if necessary, visited the house to examine the dogs.
Police said Ms Foulkes intervened when the dog attacked John Paul and managed to get it out of the house through the front door.
He was a friendly, cheerful little boy who was bright and enthusiastic in everything he did


Michael Hennessey
Head teacher



Dog attack death the latest in a line

Paramedics went in through the back of the property to treat John Paul, but he died from his injuries.
John Paul's 13-year-old brother was also in the house and was not injured, but police said he had been left "deeply traumatised" by the attack.
Ms Foulkes has been released from hospital after treatment for dog bites to her arms, body and legs.
Residents spoke of their shock at the death but complained there had been a problem with dangerous dogs in the area.
Forensic officers examined the scene of the dog attack

Gillian Watson, 46, who heard the gunshot that destroyed the dog, said: "It's such a terrible thing to happen to a family.
"There are lots of dangerous-type dogs around here. You always see young lads with pit-bull dogs roaming around.
"I have a dog myself and when I take him for a walk sometimes it's quite terrifying because you think your dog is going to be attacked."
Michael Hennessey, head teacher at St Clare's RC Primary School, where John Paul was in the nursery class, said he was a popular pupil.
"He was a friendly, cheerful little boy who was bright and enthusiastic in everything he did.
"He will be very sadly missed, and the thoughts of everyone at the school are with his family."

[melloned]

A tragic case this Mate resulting in the death of a small child and , i'd have no qualms about having to licence my 2 labradors ( they're soft as sh*te !) .

I think they withdrew the old dog licence as it only had about 50% take up in the end and found to be impossible to enforce (a bit like car tax today ! ) .

The evidence in this case now seems to point to the owner having been breeding them for fighting , maybe if they shot the owner dead alongside the dog , it would get the message over to these scumbags .

As Caesar Milan ( the dog whisperer ) say's , there's no such thing as a bad dog , only a bad owner , if an owner forces his dog to fight , it will obey.
This breed of dog has no place in family homes , along with a few i could mention , not on the dangerous dogs list.

A lot of it's about enforcement , i see more people using mobile phones on the move since it's been outlawed than before .
Despite the law change , the threats and the awful accident's
attributed to them , people don't appear to give a toss !

[dctyper]

your right mate, its the owners, i have an american bulldog, meant to be psycho dogs! but it is the most loving cuddly dog ever!!!

[Raven]

Doesn't matter whether it's dogs or kids, end of the day their upbringing almost always determines how they choose to behave. Dogs that are well brought up, much like people, don't wind up being terrors for the most part.....so I don't think it should be so much a case of making it tougher for regular people to get dogs rather than not allow dogs to be taken by chav looking sorts because let's be honest the chav types shall we say you can spot them a mile away and are the most likely to neglect their dogs. Obviously it's not a 1 size fits all case in anything I've said in this post, but it is a generalization that fits the bill. The truth is certain types of people, or rather nobheads, shouldn't be allowed to bring up animals because they themselves can't be responsible. So what chance do the animals have ? The word is irresponsibility and in this case both a dog and a small child have both lost their lifes through it.

It's an easy fix, just have the original dog owner or seller use their own intuition and make sure the dog goes to a good home or at least to good people.....it might be discriminating against but lives are at stake. I think more should be made of the decision on who to give or sell to as it's a very important one. That's my take on it, anyhow.

As for dog breeding for fighting purposes or whatever, why is it that there's nearly always some small child ending up being killed and the dog being shot and yet the owner is alright, the kid and the dog don't know any better but the owner obviously is the 1 person than does and yet he's the 1 person that gets off scot free.....that needs addressing aswell. Cut the head off the snake, as it were.

[melloned]

your right mate, its the owners, i have an american bulldog, meant to be psycho dogs! but it is the most loving cuddly dog ever!!!

A friend of mine's got one too mate , she's the working strain ,
weighs just under 7st , she's white , black and brindle , with one brindle and one white eye and a pink muzzle .
He got her from a local shelter , after she was abandoned by gypsies , when they were evicted from an illegal camp .
She looks extremely fearsome , but is like putty in anyone's hands (even children's) .
He's always kept her on a short lead and has been getting more than his normal share of "odd glances" since this case , sad really .

[Stuart 0366]

We had a Lab Staffy cross...soft as putty he was, as long as you wore bright colours (anyone except family that is).

He was a rescue dog but fitted in with us very quick (my oldest son used to do allsorts with that dog weeks after we got him) but never got to grips with folks outside in a totally friendly way so we muzzled him when we took him out. Quite funny watching my 8 year old at the time ordering this dog about on walks and the dog listening.

This actually prevented him from going for folk. I suppose he must have had a good brain on him to think "if I can't bite where's the point in attacking". If he had managed to get hold of anyone I would have had no hesitation in putting him down much as I loved him. This, I suppose, seperates good from bad owners.

We had him for 12 of his 13 years and like I said...as soft as putty...but we were never complacent about it though. Any animal can turn at any time. It is just the bad owners that don't realise this and the above sad situations happen.

For anyone thinking of getting one of the more dangerous types please remember they can do serious damage to anyone so be sure you can train and handle the animal well. If you do that then you and it should be able to enjoy many years together.