Dog Attacks, Owner Scarpers

katharinewheel

I'm actually seething.

My dad was attacked and bitten by a GSD last night.

And the owner and his dog just f**king ran away.

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So the long and the short of it is last night, whilst out on his evening walk last night (alone as we don't have a dog), my dad was bitten by an unruly, unmuzzeled Alsation. My dad was literally walking along the street, minding his own business when this dog and his owner passed by and the dog started pulling and growling and then lunged at him. It grabbed on to his leg, biting down hard and growling.

The owner of the Alsation pulled the dog off and then ran away and hid. He didn't care about the injuries that his dog may have done, and is very capable of doing.

My dad called the guards, but by this time the a*sehole and his dog were long gone, so they took him to this hospital. After spending the entire night in A&E, he was told that it was a very deep puncture wound but he should count his lucky stars it wasn't a hell of a lot worse.

I don't claim to know the law about such things as I, to be honest I've never needed to look them up. But I know Shepherds/Alsations are on RB list, but does this mean, should the owner be caught, that the dog would be destroyed for attacking a person? (One of the reasons we suspect the owner ran away, other than of course, being completely spineless and irresponsible). I mean, I know the blame lies with the owner, not the animal. My dad himself, had a GSD many moons ago, who although quite docile was always muzzeled on walks kept on a very short leash.

Again I don't know how seriously the guards take matters like this. I don't know if they will ever catch the guy and his dog, or if they can. But whats to say that next time it won't be worse? Whats to say the next time the dog won't attack a child or an elderly person? Good God. But I seriously doubt the scumbag who owns this dog will even give a ****.

seamus

katharinewheel wrote: »

But I know Shepherds/Alsations are on RB list, but does this mean, should the owner be caught, that the dog would be destroyed for attacking a person?

Actually in the case of a dog bite, the RB list is irrelevant. Any dog who attacks a person can be seized and the warden must go to court to have the dog declared dangerous and destroyed. Or if the owner willingly surrenders the dog, the warden can have it PTS without the court.

In addition to the above, the owner could separately be fined for not have the dog under effective control, on a 1m leash or muzzled.

This is the kind of idiot who gives all dog owners a bad name tbh. He most likely knew that his dog had a tendency to do this, but walked him out uncontrolled anyway.

The Sweeper

I'd actually wonder if the person walking the dog wasn't the owner. That'd explain a lot - including why the dog wasn't under control.

Was your dad walking anywhere particularly quiet, or particularly late? I ask because I'm trying to get the picture of where and when it happened - if it was a remote area and late, the person walking the dog could have been the owner who, knowing their dog has human aggressive leanings, walks them at antisocial hours in an effort not to meet anyone. Alternatively, if it was like 7pm and a normal street, I would be very suspicious that the dog was being walked by a family member, friend or dogwalker who doesn't know its behaviour.

My gut feeling is someone who knew their dog could behave like that would probably not walk it. Someone who knew the dog would have been more prepared for it to kick off and better able to remove it before it bit your father.

...or they could have just been a clueless muppet who's an accident waiting to happen - and it'll happen again, so I hope the gardai can catch them.

mattser

As a poster elsewhere on such related matters , OP, this is an ever increasing problem. The " Ah, he won't go near ya " idiots, with their mutt running loose in public places. Both should be on a leash.

My advice is keep going back to location. there's a fair chance you will see the pair of them again. Have your camera/phone handy.

This was a serious incident, and armed with your evidence, the Gardai MUST act on your behalf.

lrushe

Was it a park, street etc.
If it was a park I would give the park warden (as well as the dog warden) a description of the person and dog involved so that they are aware of the danger.
If it was on a street you could call into local businesses and see if they have any CCTV footage of the incident.
If all else fails you could put some posters up with the owners description and ask for any information on who the person was to be relaid to you, or maybe someone else who has been a victim of the this person might contact you, then at least you would have a stronger case if you did ever track the owner down.
Hopefully there was a witness to the attack otherwise you might find yourself in a "his word against yours" situation.

Best of luck, I hope your father's feeling better soon.

**Vai**

For every good case study of a RB dog u can put forward theres always one dick like this who gives us all a bad name.

Very sorry to hear about this OP, its disgraceful.

katharinewheel

The Sweeper wrote: »

I'd actually wonder if the person walking the dog wasn't the owner. That'd explain a lot - including why the dog wasn't under control.

Was your dad walking anywhere particularly quiet, or particularly late? I ask because I'm trying to get the picture of where and when it happened - if it was a remote area and late, the person walking the dog could have been the owner who, knowing their dog has human aggressive leanings, walks them at antisocial hours in an effort not to meet anyone. Alternatively, if it was like 7pm and a normal street, I would be very suspicious that the dog was being walked by a family member, friend or dogwalker who doesn't know its behaviour.

My gut feeling is someone who knew their dog could behave like that would probably not walk it. Someone who knew the dog would have been more prepared for it to kick off and better able to remove it before it bit your father.

...or they could have just been a clueless muppet who's an accident waiting to happen - and it'll happen again, so I hope the gardai can catch them.

He was out on a monday evening at 7pm on a street facing a housing estate and literally outside the gates of a primary school.

Obviously I cannot know for sure whether it was the actual owner of the dog or not. Especially since I wasn't there, but my dad seems to have the impression that the dog was with his owner. It's not beyond the realm of possibility that someone who would allow their dog to attack someone and then run away would not have been bothered to train the dog. Or would have bought a GSD because they look "cool" and then be totally unprepared for the amount of training these dogs need and the amount of strength they have.

And whether the dog was with the owner or not, he should have been controlled properly by whomever was walking him. Especially considering the type of dog it is and the level of damage a GSD can do if it wanted to. Not being the owner is absolutely NO excuse, muzzles aren't expensive.

The Sweeper

I wasn't making an excuse. I was speculating on why a dog launched an unprovoked attack against your dad. A dog that attacks an adult, not a child or someone with a dog or someone on a bike or a skateboard or someone running - a dog that just goes off at an adult man on a residential street in daylight with no provocation other than it was walking past him - that is an extremely dangerous dog.

Even the most masochistic of owners wouldn't sign up to walking a dog like that regularly. The attack may not have been far from where the dog lives either (on the basis that nobody would walk such a difficult dog to control very far).

Are the gardai having any luck? I bet it lives in the streets around where it attacked your dad, but rarely if ever gets out.

Discodog

I would leave it for a week or two so that the owner assumes that everything has died down & then I would take the occasional drive around the area. He was on foot so he must live nearby. If you spot him then the key objective is to follow him home. Taking photos is ok provided that you have a decent zoom lens - you couldn't get close enough with a phone without being detected. You have the advantage that, whilst he might recognise your Dad, he won't know you.

If you can establish where he lives then there are two lines of action, legal & civil. Report his location to the Guards & insist that they act. If they show any sign of reluctance then insist seeing a senior officer & make a complaint. In order to seek redress in the Civil Court for injuries, distress etc you will need a name. The dog warden may be willing to call at the house & might give you the name of the owner.

Justask

Reading stuff like this makes my blood boil :mad: It should be RO not RB (restricted owners)

Not all GSD owners are dicks like this.

Most of us have these RB not because they are RB but because of the love of what ever dog it is...

Sorry rant over