Pet mauled to death in dog attack horror (From Thisisdorset)

A friend witnessed this incident and thinks its the staffy's owner that wants muzzling and putting on a lead - the dog was hit with a baseball bat and wouldnt let go.that dog is dangerous ... if it had been a child ???

Here we go again!

The law is not robust enough to deal with this type of incident. It would have been an horrific scene to witness!

The little dog is no longer in pain, but what about the owner? Nothing is done about their suffering!

I am a dog owner i say that the owner of this dog should be held responsible for that dog and it should be taken away and that person not be allowed to have a dog.I suppose that person feels hard because they have a dog that has been trained to attack.The law has to be changed.

The same thing happened to my dog. Luckily he survived. My dog is a Lhasa Apso, tiny, about the size of a new born baby. This Staffy locked his jaws onto my dog and shook him. It was horrific. It was only when this staffy was grabbed, and his jaws forced open, after been hit over the head several times, he finally let go. It was only my little dogs robust collar that saved him and probably that he didn't get a good hold before he locked his jaws. I rang the police, not interested, rang dog wardens, not interested. These dogs attacking small animals like that are dangerous. Not just to little dogs, but babies and children. The dog that attacked my dog saw my dog as prey, without a shadow of doubt. The worst of it was, the owner had absolutely no remorse what so ever, and even mocked me. He wasn't a teen or a young dog owner, this guy was in his 60's. Those dogs do not necessarily need to be trained to attack, it's their instinct to do so if they havn't been properly trained. Most Staffies are lovely dogs, but without proper training are lethal weapons. There needs to be tighter laws on dogs attacking other dogs. The dog wardens are not interested unless they attack a human. My argument is, little dog now, baby later. Simple as.

The Staffordshire should have been destroyed and the owner banned from keeping dogs. This will keep happening until people have to pass certain competency tests to own the more aggressive breeds.

Staffies are "people" dogs, they are just not safe around other male dogs!

Does anyone know for sure if the Stafford was on a lead,or running free.
As i own Staffords (pure bred),sadly none of mine are ever let off a lead in public places,as we always encounter uncontrollable dogs running free,and i wont risk my dogs being destroyed through other peoples ignorance.My dogs will happily ignore other dogs,but i always get small yappy type breeds for some reason,try and challenge my dogs to a scrap.For this reason i only take one dog at a time,so if i was in a situation,i would easily have control.
Two of my dogs themselves have been attacked by other breeds.
As a responsible owner i would happily agree to all dogs being muzzled and leashed in public places,however its never going to happen

RageAgainstTheMachin
e wrote:
Does anyone know for sure if the Stafford was on a lead,or running free. As i own Staffords (pure bred),sadly none of mine are ever let off a lead in public places,as we always encounter uncontrollable dogs running free,and i wont risk my dogs being destroyed through other peoples ignorance.My dogs will happily ignore other dogs,but i always get small yappy type breeds for some reason,try and challenge my dogs to a scrap.For this reason i only take one dog at a time,so if i was in a situation,i would easily have control. Two of my dogs themselves have been attacked by other breeds. As a responsible owner i would happily agree to all dogs being muzzled and leashed in public places,however its never going to happen

If what you say is true why is it that at least 7 out of 10 of these attacks are done by staffies?

Your pets are very much your own making.

This dog should be removed from the owner and the owner should be banned from keeping dogs.

The police should of gotton involved as a pet is above all a member of your family but it is technically your property and destruction of private property is an offence.

Also I believe dogs should be kept on a lead out in public at all times.

All people know if their dogs are abit narky or nasty and they then should be on a lead at all time and muzzled.

I do fostering for various doggie rescues so sadly see the end story all too often.

Big hugs to the yorkies owner and I hope it does not put you off giving a loving home to another doggie - maybe a rescue as you can be their dream home come true.

Laurie H Marsh wrote:

RageAgainstTheMachin e wrote: Does anyone know for sure if the Stafford was on a lead,or running free. As i own Staffords (pure bred),sadly none of mine are ever let off a lead in public places,as we always encounter uncontrollable dogs running free,and i wont risk my dogs being destroyed through other peoples ignorance.My dogs will happily ignore other dogs,but i always get small yappy type breeds for some reason,try and challenge my dogs to a scrap.For this reason i only take one dog at a time,so if i was in a situation,i would easily have control. Two of my dogs themselves have been attacked by other breeds. As a responsible owner i would happily agree to all dogs being muzzled and leashed in public places,however its never going to happen

If what you say is true why is it that at least 7 out of 10 of these attacks are done by staffies?

The reason for the amount of attacks,is obviously first and foremost is the amount of owners,who go and get a Stafford,and dont realise exactly what they have on there hands,if not trained and controlled properly. Secondly 75% of Staffords out there are not pure bred for a start,everyone is over breeding this breed and mixing it with every other suspect breed going,so many owners have there trophy dog.The majority of Staffords i know past and present,would not start a scrap,however when challenged they would finish it,its bred into them if not controlled correctly.
As i have said before not only would i agree to muzzle and leash all dogs in public.
I would be happy to have a law passed that all Bull breeds and certain other dog breeds,should be registered,insured and never be controlled by a person under 18 years old.

Laurie H Marsh wrote:
Staffies are "people" dogs, they are just not safe around other male dogs!

What a load of rubbish! History proves you totally wrong. These dogs should be banned, full stop.

Laurie - where'd ya get ya 7 in 10 "fact"?

In my experience, little dogs are far more aggressive than larger breeds - little man syndrome.

If the Yorkie in this story ran toward the staffy barking - as many of them do - then it is partly responsible.

If you have a small yappy dog that can't hold it's own, don't release it in public. You cannot predict the behaviour of other dogs.

Scrap?? why does this word keep cropping up, if you take your dog out knowing that it might start a Scrap!! then you shouldnt even be thinking of taking it anywhere near other dog walkers or members of the public without being muzzled, most breeds like to sniff and play and roll about haveing fun, NOT going out to find a scrap with another dog or maybe a small child, so c-mon if you have a breed of dog that most people take a wide berth to and look at and think looks like a fighter muzzle it in public and then people will look at you differently as to being a responsible owner, and before you all say it i know there not all vicious but you never know the slightest thing may trigger natural instinct.

For the record, my Lhasa Apso was on lead when he was attacked by the staffie. Not yappy and not confrontational at all. I noted the staffie off lead ignoring it's owner's commands. I moved off track and away from the staffie and it came up, circling round, launching at my dog and seemed attracted to my dog's sudden jerks to get away from it. I called to the owner, who whistled to the dog, but calls were ignored while the owner collected wood. All of a sudden it grabbed my dog and wouldn't let go. My dog had wrapped the lead round my legs and ran under my legs to get away. I was trapped too. Lucky the dog didn't grab my leg by mistake. Do not blame the small dog. The staffy is to blame. Small dogs can be yappy, and small dog owners are responsible for their dogs as much, and shouldn't be off lead either, but a properly trained dog will not attack another dog simple as. You can't just pass the buck. Every one is responsible for their dogs actions. If in any doubt, muzzle and lead. I do get fed up with stories like this when sympathy is given to the poor dog that killed another. He may have been provoked by a tiny dog. It could be a child next time. What then? The staffy was provoked then as well, but it's ok?? Have some common sense!!

The problem in most if not all cases is irresponsible owners ! I keep my dog on lead most of the time because he is very nervous being a rescue dog.
He has recently been attacked twice by a Jack Russell. On the first occasion I asked the male walking the dog to keep it under control.He said he would not !
On the second occasion the female walking the dog stated it was "what dogs do" and that she was a vetinary nurse !
The law states that a dog must be under control in public at all times.This means that it must be on lead or will respond when called if off lead.
Dog on dog attacks are not a Police matter.Call the dog wardens as mentioned above.

Poolebabe - I see you POV too.

I guess the message is everyone should keep their dogs under control.

I don't think staffies (or even pitbulls) are really any worse than other breeds - just more likely to be owned by dickheads who at best fail to install discipline, and at worse actively encourage aggressiveness.

Any decent owner will stamp out aggression in a pet from an early age - my collie got the snip when he started having a go at other males, for his own good.

There should be more legislation to deal with dog-on-dog attacks. I think dog owners should have to pass a test and have a licence like we do with drivers - like cars dogs can kill if not controlled properly.

http://www.expressan
dstar.com/2009/07/01
/horror-as-pack-of-d
ogs-savage-pet/

1 fool and her dogs.

The problem with controlling these dogs is not an easy one with regards to the law, as the Dangerous Dogs act is so flawed, and full of loopholes, that like the Hunting Act is impossible to enforce! Any dog that comes under the act has to be a pure breed, and if not then by the very act its not classed as a dangerous dog in the eyes of the law, no matter how dangerous in reality it really is!
The root of the problem lies I feel with this government who have rushed through so many uenforceable laws, as well as others. For instance did you know that from yesterday the fine for not wearing a seatbelt is now £60 and not £30?

Our lovely cat was savaged to death by a pack of 4 staffordshire bull terrier 'crosses'. The owner did not have the dogs on leads. The dogs were being walked through a residential area when they caught sight of our cat. they attacked our cat as a pack and the owner could do nothing but swear at them. The owner later claimed that the cat had "jumped out in front of the dogs and it was not his fault". Police and dog warden showed no interest. Totally inconsiderate and disgraceful behaviour. Unfortunately typical of our rotten chav society.

The reason the Police showed no 'interest' is that quite simply it's a civil law, not a criminal one,
and as such they have no powers in that respect.

i have just got a puppy staff shes great but wen i was walking her i had to tell the childrens mother to take them away as they were making her exited,the breed itself is fine its like ppl good and bad yes some pll do treat bad but that can be said about there own familys,the perants need to teach their kids to be respectful of wll dogsand to listen to the owner.i was disgusted with the perant she appered more intrested in talking to her mum and not watching her kids,mine gets very exited like ne pup.its the kids perants who should be held responsible.but i do agree that all new pups should be insured just like ur car,its not expensive,it should be law

Staffords are fine dogs as long as they are not owned by idiots. Too many think they are "hard" when owning such a dog and are happy to allow it to attack other dogs - or indeed, to encourage it. I feel sad for the staffie owners who are responsible and have lovely dogs which ar e lucky enough to live with them and are well trained an d handled.
Regarding dog on dog aggression and attacks - the Dangerous Dogs Act is not the Act which deals with this.
This Act deals more with dog on human aggression.

The Act which should be referred to is the Dogs Act 1871. One case set as a precedent that a dog could be "dangerous" and "not under proper control" if it was dangerous to other dogs and not to humans. This relates to Section 2 of this Act. The case which set the precedent was Briscoe versus Shattock 12 October, 1998.

If any police are reluctant to deal with dog on dog attacks, this should be quoted to them.

I think that with this growing culture of owning dogs for a status symbol or weapon, they should bring dog licences back and make training mandatory for all owners, in addition, all breeder's of any dog should be made to have a license to breed. We need to stop the breeding culture as well. There are people who buy dogs and see the £ signs without realising or even caring about their dog or the care the puppies need should something go wrong. They sell their pups with no concience to anyone for the right price. I think potential dog owners should have to undergo some sort of training before they are even allowed a dog, to stop people getting dogs without thinking of the consequences. That might help ease the burden of the dog rescues as well.

I have huge sympathy for the owner fo the dog killed. I have just had yet another morning walk ruined by iresponsible dog owners. Over the last month there has been a spate of incidents involving larger dogs with my small terrier. I have a small terrier who is a rescue dog, very timid and although of a breed that can be snappy generally will mind his own business and be very calm. He generally stays on the lead when out as he is an escape artist ( he has a huge garden to run round in all day!) However a month ago my husband took him out and a staffy attacked him for no reason - my husband was forced to kick the dog off but was bitten himself and our dog had injuries to his scruff and ears. Last week a german shepherd spent 5 minutes 'circling' us, full teeth bared in attack mode whilst his owner told me not to worry, that the dog didn't normally attack and she couldn't understand what was wrong with it. She was unable to bring the dog under control and the incident was completely terrfifying.It was only the exceptional brave intervention of a female labrador who knows my dog well that got the alsation to back off.Extroardinarily she postioned herself between us and the alsation which in all my 20 years of dog owning I have never seen happen before. This morning I was told I was 'demented' by a male owner of a rottweiler, off the lead, who objected to me asking him to remove his dog from being so close to us. The dog had run across a 200m patch of land to get to us with the owner completely unable to halt the dog or bring him to heel. He positioned himself within 1m of us and would not respond to verbal commands from his owner who told me he was a 'gentle giant'. Giant yes - gentle - no.Why can't these dog owners understand that if your dog is on the lead and you are keeping your distance then its either beacuse you want a quiet walk, that your dog may be a bit unwell or sensitive or just aggressive and the safest place for it is on the lead and away from other animals, or you are simply just minding your own business!
I'm sick of being told by owners with these very large dogs that they are gentle giants and that they never normally attack. When will they understand that it is HOT! and that dogs get hot and bad tempered and that any dog is liable to snap or worse attack under our current weather conditions. Also I don't understand why they think they have the right to let these large animals run loose to such an extent in areas which are public and open to large numbers of children, adults and other animals at this time of the year. It's incredibly selfish

I agree many owners don't understand dog walking etiquette.

Recently I saw a person with a very sweet deerhound let his dog rush in play at a small terrier dog. The terrier did attempt to play but it was at a disadvantage and so ended up snapping at the deerhound, which must have seemed huge to the terrier as it had no idea how to play with small dogs (it was trying to be gentle but had no idea how to be really).

Sadly the owner of the deerhound called it back and it went beautifully - whereupon he smacked it hard.

Silly ignorant man, as firstly his dog may stop going back to him due to his punishment and secondly, his dog, as he admitted, had actually done nothing wrong, it was simply beinga dog. All that was needed in this case was for this lovely big dog to have had a far more savvy owner who would have called the dog before anything happened - but instead he waited until his dog upset the smaller dog who felt it had to try to drive it away after the deerhound jumped on its back and hurt it. I repeate the deerhound and small terrier were both lovely tempered dogs, what was lacking was owner common sense.
The owner hinted he was associated with a vets somehow but I have no reason to believe him as most vets would know that a large dog which does not know how to play with a small dog might hurt it, and would not be so silly as to smack their dog for their own lack of foresight.

RageAgainstTheMachin
e wrote:
Does anyone know for sure if the Stafford was on a lead,or running free. As i own Staffords (pure bred),sadly none of mine are ever let off a lead in public places,as we always encounter uncontrollable dogs running free,and i wont risk my dogs being destroyed through other peoples ignorance.My dogs will happily ignore other dogs,but i always get small yappy type breeds for some reason,try and challenge my dogs to a scrap.For this reason i only take one dog at a time,so if i was in a situation,i would easily have control. Two of my dogs themselves have been attacked by other breeds. As a responsible owner i would happily agree to all dogs being muzzled and leashed in public places,however its never going to happen

Thanks for your question RageAgainstTheMachin
e. According to our witness the Staffie was indeed on a lead, but without a muzzle. Hope this helps, Allana Cutter

divingdave wrote:

Laurie H Marsh wrote: Staffies are "people" dogs, they are just not safe around other male dogs!

What a load of rubbish! History proves you totally wrong. These dogs should be banned, full stop.

How many Staffies do you hear about attacking people?
I agree that they should be banned, what use is half a dog?

magicmonkey wrote:
Laurie - where'd ya get ya 7 in 10 "fact"? In my experience, little dogs are far more aggressive than larger breeds - little man syndrome. If the Yorkie in this story ran toward the staffy barking - as many of them do - then it is partly responsible. If you have a small yappy dog that can't hold it's own, don't release it in public. You cannot predict the behaviour of other dogs.

"ya" got my 7 out of 10 fact by READING, you should try it sometime!

I am a Staffy owner and am sick and tired of the breed being classed as aggressive and violent. All dogs have a 'wild' side, they are after all animals. I have witnessed so many times small yappy dogs nipping other dogs...but that is okay is it? If a staff did that it would be headlines.
One simple way to stop this would be to make all owners of a bull breed to be over 21 with no criminal record. The dog would have to be a pure breed and chipped and insured. They would also have to get a license issued by the local council to ensure guidelines are met.
You just cannot tar every staffy with the same brush. When a teenager fights or knives someone does that mean all teens are bad? Of course it doesn't. same for dogs.
People who comment on here should make worthwhile constructive comments instead of off the hip immature and liberal views that helps no one

gibbsy wrote:
I am a Staffy owner and am sick and tired of the breed being classed as aggressive and violent. All dogs have a 'wild' side, they are after all animals. I have witnessed so many times small yappy dogs nipping other dogs...but that is okay is it? If a staff did that it would be headlines. One simple way to stop this would be to make all owners of a bull breed to be over 21 with no criminal record. The dog would have to be a pure breed and chipped and insured. They would also have to get a license issued by the local council to ensure guidelines are met. You just cannot tar every staffy with the same brush. When a teenager fights or knives someone does that mean all teens are bad? Of course it doesn't. same for dogs. People who comment on here should make worthwhile constructive comments instead of off the hip immature and liberal views that helps no one

Staffies dont just "Nip" other dogs, they lock on and KILL them!
Read your own comment.
As you say these dogs should not be allowed to be owned by anyone under 21.
That (according to you) makes them more lethal than a car owner or anyone who is allowed to join the army, carry a gun and shoot people!
You are right!

Laurie H Marsh wrote:

gibbsy wrote:
I am a Staffy owner and am sick and tired of the breed being classed as aggressive and violent. All dogs have a 'wild' side, they are after all animals. I have witnessed so many times small yappy dogs nipping other dogs...but that is okay is it? If a staff did that it would be headlines. One simple way to stop this would be to make all owners of a bull breed to be over 21 with no criminal record. The dog would have to be a pure breed and chipped and insured. They would also have to get a license issued by the local council to ensure guidelines are met. You just cannot tar every staffy with the same brush. When a teenager fights or knives someone does that mean all teens are bad? Of course it doesn't. same for dogs. People who comment on here should make worthwhile constructive comments instead of off the hip immature and liberal views that helps no one

Staffies dont just "Nip" other dogs, they lock on and KILL them!
Read your own comment.
As you say these dogs should not be allowed to be owned by anyone under 21.
That (according to you) makes them more lethal than a car owner or anyone who is allowed to join the army, carry a gun and shoot people!
You are right!

Laurie

You really do need to get a grip of reality. You rant about shooting people etc. Quite pathetic. Save your confused rants for child molestors, knife carrying idiots and terrorists.
I guess you've never owned a Staffy yet alone a dog and have no idea about the breed. Have a read about them and speak to the kennel club first. After this you might see how stupid you look

Sorry to put this here but I keep getting notifications for other people on here (by name)when a comment is added, rather than for me, Linds2009. Is this normal?

gibbsy wrote:

Laurie H Marsh wrote:

gibbsy wrote: I am a Staffy owner and am sick and tired of the breed being classed as aggressive and violent. All dogs have a 'wild' side, they are after all animals. I have witnessed so many times small yappy dogs nipping other dogs...but that is okay is it? If a staff did that it would be headlines. One simple way to stop this would be to make all owners of a bull breed to be over 21 with no criminal record. The dog would have to be a pure breed and chipped and insured. They would also have to get a license issued by the local council to ensure guidelines are met. You just cannot tar every staffy with the same brush. When a teenager fights or knives someone does that mean all teens are bad? Of course it doesn't. same for dogs. People who comment on here should make worthwhile constructive comments instead of off the hip immature and liberal views that helps no one

Staffies dont just "Nip" other dogs, they lock on and KILL them! Read your own comment. As you say these dogs should not be allowed to be owned by anyone under 21. That (according to you) makes them more lethal than a car owner or anyone who is allowed to join the army, carry a gun and shoot people! You are right!

Laurie You really do need to get a grip of reality. You rant about shooting people etc. Quite pathetic. Save your confused rants for child molestors, knife carrying idiots and terrorists. I guess you've never owned a Staffy yet alone a dog and have no idea about the breed. Have a read about them and speak to the kennel club first. After this you might see how stupid you look

Rant?
YOU are the one spruking on about being over 21.
I was just pointing out that in YOUR terms people are not old enough to own these things.
READ YOUR OWN COMMENT!
P.s. I have owned a Staffy.

Do you know what, I don't own a single pet and I am sick to death of the lot of them! I know there are responsible owners who respect others but in my experience they all put their animals before other human beings and that is wrong. Cats leave faeces in your garden that can blind a child, screech at night, spray fowl smelling musk everywhere. Dogs fowl parks and pavements, attack people, make endless noise barking. All this wouldn't be so bad if the council could control it but they can't and we all suffer. And it's no use saying "that's just the way they are what are we supposed to do", because if you applied that to everything think how dangerous a premise it would be.
If I as a human being fouled the pavement I'd be locked up so quick my feet wouldn't touch the ground even though my own faeces is likely to be less harmful to others. Put People First!!

GAHmusic wrote:
Do you know what, I don't own a single pet and I am sick to death of the lot of them! I know there are responsible owners who respect others but in my experience they all put their animals before other human beings and that is wrong. Cats leave faeces in your garden that can blind a child, screech at night, spray fowl smelling musk everywhere. Dogs fowl parks and pavements, attack people, make endless noise barking. All this wouldn't be so bad if the council could control it but they can't and we all suffer. And it's no use saying "that's just the way they are what are we supposed to do", because if you applied that to everything think how dangerous a premise it would be. If I as a human being fouled the pavement I'd be locked up so quick my feet wouldn't touch the ground even though my own faeces is likely to be less harmful to others. Put People First!!

Well said!
That has to be the last word!
It wont be of course!

In today's society where we all live so close together, (unfortunately!) we need tolerance.
Personally, I get fed up of people coming home from the pub and waking me up but I respect their right to go to the pub (wish they'd respect my rights to my sleep, but anyway...); what about those teenagers who stabbed that young fawn, and will no doubt only get a slap on the wrist, even though, as the police wildlife officer stated, they needed serious help. It is well documented that those who start on animals by physical abuse may end up doing the same or worse to humans.
And don't get me started on litter and fireworks...

As for endless barking - the owners need to get help to work with their pets who may be barking due to anxiety due to being left or perhaps they are protecting the property. My dog stops at once when she barks if I ask her to, and I do not let her bark excessively, this is achieved via kind training but many people granted don't make the effort to find out how to do this.

Noises that annoy me are people shouting in their own gardens and also the uncontrolled very noisy children who, it seems, are allowed to scream, yell and fight all day even though it may annoy some neightbours!Unfortun
atley we can't contact the council about them as they are only playing. I used to play as a child but had to think of the neighbours as well! Hence my mouth organ was taken away when I kept insisting on playing it at all hours!!!

As a dog owner I dislike dog fouling, in fact it drives me mad, but I would never say ban all pets.I would like to wring the necks of those lazy owners who avoid picking u p and who bring disrepute upon us all, I truly would. They make me mad.
I dislike fireworks but I'd only suggest keeping them to certain nights of the year not banning them.

Let's not forget dogs aid shepherds, police, drugs agencies, customs, the blind, the deaf, those with disabilities, and so on - and that pets keep owner's blood pressure down!

No specific breed of dog should be banned. That is ignorance, pure and simple. Dogs, regardless of breed or size, should be leashed at all times in public places. If your dog requires more exercise, stop being lazy and jog with it. It's not safe for your dog to run around freely, nor do others appreciate it attacking their leashed pets, jumping on their children or barking at them. Cats should be kept inside to prevent them from fouling gardens and killing wildlife. This is all common sense. We are not living in the wild west, it's a city.