A Cliftonville woman in her 60s has been issued with a notice to keep her dog muzzled and on a lead when out of her home after another woman and her pet were bitten by the animal this morning {December 5}.
A witness says there were two dogs off the leash at Palm Bay when another female dog walker and her pet were attacked.
The witness said: “The police attended the scene and the woman was taken to hospital and her dog assessed by a vet. The woman and her dog were saved by some builders who were passing by.”
A Kent Police spokesperson said: “Kent Police was called at 10.27am to a report that a woman in her 30s and her dog had been bitten by an unleashed dog in The Ridings area of Cliftonville.
“Officers attended and carried out enquiries at the scene. A woman in her 60s from the local area was issued with a community resolution requiring her to keep her dog muzzled and, on a lead, when out of home. Serious injuries were not reported.”
Told to keep her dog on a lead and muzzled.
What a joke!So,the dog assaulted a woman and received no punishment.
One in London just mauled a guy to death yesterday-looks like in the property though. But the dog had been involved in incidents last months9presumably with no action taken then) which she is now also being charged with owning a dog out of control with no injuries.
If laws don’t exist then they need to be put in place quickly for the authorites to intervene at the first sign of trouble-for people who insist on having dangerous dogs, often dogs as in the London case that are fighting dogs, have no interest in training them & no interest in having them on a lead or muzzling them.
Laws do exist Suspended, the Animal Welfare Act, but the police fail to enforce it! Instead they fob people off by referring them to the RSPCA, who according to a letter I have from them, have a policy to NOT enforce the law, unless in an emergency and an animal is likely to die! So, if someone contacts the police and reports a possible dangerous dog, they would be referred to the RSPCA, who would ignore it. The RSPCA are NOT a branch of the police they are NOT publicly accountable, they are not legally obliged to enforce the law, the Animal Welfare Act, and mostly don’t!
Neither the police or the RSPCA will seize possibly dangerous dogs, why? The answer is they have nowhere to keep them! The police should have their own Domestic Animal Expert Officers, and kennels to keep seized dogs, but they depend on a charity instead. A charity that is not state funded, and is not fit for PUBLIC SERVICE, so can’t be held responsible should a dog go feral, and attack another dog, a child, or anyone!
On average every year over 20,000 people are attacked by dogs, some people are seriously injured, or even killed, mostly children! It is a national scandal that the police will not enforce the law until AFTER a dog has attacked someone, or another dog. I am a former RSPCA Trustee, and know what I am talking about. Recently I have contacted our new East Thanet MP Polly Billington about this but so far she has failed to reply to my email, why is that?
Shame the Police & RSPCA don’t work together on these matters. Wouldn’t hold your breath with our Gauche Caviar MP-like nearly all the rest of what calls themself the Labour Party at Westminster these days-mostly filled with Lobbyists like her, she is only interested in what she can get out of the job.
Suspended, read my Post again, what part of the police referring people to the RSPCA, who do nothing, don’t you understand! As I said, the RSPCA are a charity, and are not publicly accountable, so can’t be held responsible if a dog reported to them as possibly dangerous, attacks another dog, or someone!
The RSPCA do not have a contract with the police, perhaps if they did they could be held legally responsible if a dog reported to them turns feral, and attacks someone or another dog! When I reported this to the Kent police, I was told to make a complaint against them, whaaaaat. I am no longer a member of the RSPCA so can’t make a complaint against them, and neither can any member of the public unless they are a member!
I reported to the police by post 4 times, twice by recorded delivery that some people were keeping 4 Rhodesian Ridgeback dags contrary to the Animal Welfare Act. They were being contained inside a 2 bed semi detached bungalow, without any mental or physical stimulation, 24/7 contrary to the PDSA 12 criteria for this breed.
The Police and an RSPCA Inspector visited, and found the dogs fit and well, so no action was taken! This breed is descended from wild African dogs, and Great Danes, and were guard dogs against lions and Baboons, they need at least 2 hours a day hard physical exercise, but the RSPCA took no action, so neither did the police! They both failed to enforce the Welfare Act, and the dogs are condemned to live lives of misery, as I said to the Kent Chief RSPCA Inspector! I could provide other cases where the RSPCA fail to enforce the law, as do the police! So, over to you Polly Billington!
All dogs, in a public space, should be on a short leash.
There is absolutely no justification for a situation where members of the public, going about their lawful business, should be menaced in this way.
But remember many thousands of thanet residents had no problem with dogs at all today , so it’s not really a problem
One person being attacked by a dog is one too many.
One person being attacked by another person is one too many. But humans really do have the thought processes to choose wether they do so or not. Animals (especially those with insufficent training or the wrong training ) are going to act on instinct. But when there’s an article about an assualt in thanet the usual suspects harp on about they never see it and most people are unaffected, i struggle with the double standards.
That said it’s way overdue that all dog owners had there animal licensed and insured, just as cats should be similarly licensed for the damage they do to wildlife. But of course it’d be pointless as
1 it’d be politically unpopular
2 just like the microchip legislation it’d be widely ignored and police wouldn’t act , further undermining the notion of law and order in the country.
3. The claims against insurers would be huge as everyone bitten by a dog or worse, claims, then as a result the premiums rocket.
Many thousands of Thanet residents didn’t suffer shotgun injuries today.
It doesn’t mean that it’s OK to loose off shots left right and centre.
When was the last time any thanet resident was hit by a shotgun blast ( last i can recall was the targetted shooting many years back of the owner of a scaffolding company back) so amazingly enough, firearm legislation in this country is very effective and there are a vanishingly small number of occurences when shots are loosed off “ left right and centre”.
Remember the incident in ramsgate where an individual was seen in possession of a loaded sawn off shotgun on the seafront, he got 3 years iirc, totally inadequate in my opinion as that sentence was based on guidelines for possession of a section 2 firearm , where as in that instance it had been modified to turn it into a totally prohibited firearm that fell outside of any civilian classification.
Reply seems to have gone into moderation
Haha, beat me to it U.G.!
Personally, I believe a higher percentage of dogs than humans locally know how to behave properly (the disgusting smell in multi-story car parks is caused by dogs!). Not that I personally would allow dogs, cats or the radical far left from Ramsgate in my home.
How do you know Uninvited guest? Its possible hundreds of people have tried to report a possible dangerous dog to the police, who referred them to the RSPCA, and the RSPCA took no action. That happened to me a couple of years ago after I witnessed a 3 month old baby boy being stretchered out of its house by medics. Later I learned (Here!) the baby had been killed due to an injury to its head, and the parents were arrested in the QEQM. Four police cars arrived and searched the parents home, who were allowed out on bail because they had 2 other toddlers!
I found out later they also were ill treating a Staffy they kept in the back garden, which howled,cried, and barked pitifully! I pulled some strings and contacted the local RSPCA, who took 3 weeks to get back to me, and advised I contact their national office to have the case prioritised, but nothing happened! So you see, the police are fobbing people off and failing to enforce the Law, and every year over 20,000 people are attacked and seriously injured by dogs, some people are even killed, because the police nationally are depending on a charity to enforce the law, duuurh!
“Uninvited guest”- there’s a big difference between dogs and humans. Most people don’t comment crimes. But dogs aren’t human. Many owners don’t train their dogs to behave well in public. There are aggressive breeds of dog which should always be kept on a short leash. There are also breeds which, though not usually aggressive, may attack if they think they’re being threatened by a human.
So – yes, there is a problem with allowing dogs off the leash in public spaces.
Many humans don’t train their offspring to behave well. They should be kept on leashes too.
This is not a response to anybody else. In my 8.27 comment- “comment crimes” should be”commit crimes”.
I wonder what percentage of dog owners have any control over their dog. I think the minority. All dogs that can do damage (over a certain size / build / breed) should be licensed with owners required to train the dogs before they can take anywhere in public.
I believe that all dogs no matter what breed should be muzzled this way no1 can get Hurt and dogs should be on leashes at all times unless they have a penned in field where they can run free for 30 min to an hour
TDC need to bring in a bylaw every dog has to on a short lead NOT the long as long as a washing line. Lazy dog owners only let their dogs off a lead so the dog can take itself for exercise while the lazy owners stand and watch.
Any owner who does not have their dog on a lead should be find £2000 for putting members of the public and other dogs at risk.
More hysterical reactionary nonsense. This forum never fails to provide a small yet still fascinating insight into the minds of a number of individuals. All good fun, keep the laughs coming people
You seem annoyed, not entertained. Take your dog to training if you cant control it, or keep on a leash.
The amount of people with dogs have no consideration for others you might love your dog but I don’t and my dog don’t.All dogs should be on lead public space as most owners don’t consider anyone but themselves especially Margate !!
Owners of dogs off the leash in public spaces are a menace and often uncaring Their dogs frighten children and adults (my wife has been knocked over by one);they chase wildlife, and deposit their mess where owners do not see leaving a trap for other open space users and Council workmen mowing the grass. In Churchyards they disturb tended graves in addition to leaving their mark.
Perhaps more enclosed areas for dogs to run free with various forms agility apparatus should be provided where owners and dogs can socialise. This works in other parts of the world.
Lots of dog haters here it seems. I have a dog and it is kept on a lead unless we play fetch the ball in a park. He has no interest in other dogs nor humans. He has been trained to ignore others. However there are a few owners that should be trained to look after a dog. I come across several dogs off leads on public footpaths under very little control. I don’t mind so much in parks or beach but not on pavements. They can be scary and can scare my dog but the owners just laugh. I was bitten when a child but didn’t put me off dogs. I very much doubt the off lead dogs are insured. Mine is. In the past a licence was so hard to enforce they were done away with as it was pointless. There are no police to enforce much these days it seems. We always had a licence when they were required but I know of many that did not have a licence. Talk to your MP if unhappy.
Will be hate for the owners not the dogs. If license was pointless before doesn’t mean it wont work if done properly, fee would pay for wardens, it wouldn’t be the police. Be interesting to know the statistics of injuries from dogs since the license was abolished in 1987, since 2002 NHS stats say increase every year.
Good that you are doing things properly but are you going to talk to your MP?
On average over 20,000 dog attacks take place every year, and they are mostly against family members! Children are especially vulnerable, as their heads are at the same level as many dogs jaws! Dogs will turn feral out of frustration, and ill treatment like that I described earlier. And they will be euthanised for no fault of their own, but due to numb nut dogs owners, who can’t even be bothered to Google dog welfare, for their dog.