Lugeanjaam Posted October 11, 2011 Share Posted October 11, 2011 (edited) Yesterday afternoon my 15 year old son was walking home from school. He was wearing headphones so he did not hear the dogs until one of them had pretty much latched on to his leg. Two medium to large size dogs had rushed out from their property (the gates were wide open). One dog actually bit him whilst the other was lunging, growling and snapping. A neighbour 2 doors up heard the commotion and came out and thankfully helped him and took him into their property, I am so very thankful to these lovely people! In the end apart from being very shaken up he has he has a bite just above his right knee. He is up to date with his tetanus and we have been to the doc to get it cleaned up and get antibiotics, hopefully this should hold of any possible infection. My question what to do in terms of reporting this incident. I have taken photo's of the wound. We also went for a drive and got the exact address and took a photo of the property. The gates were still wide open though no dogs to be seen. I also went to the witnesses house and after thanking her I asked if they would be willing to talk to the council and give a statement. It was her brother who helped my son and he was not at home at the time but she seemed to think he would be happy to do it. I asked her if the dogs had a history of aggression and she said that 'they are always out on the street harassing people'. I have reported this to the council and they seemed to take this very seriously and they had a officer call me back within 20 minutes. He is coming over this afternoon to talk to my son and take a statement. It was bad enough that my son had to deal with this and I shudder to think if it was a poor mum pushing a pram, or a young child that these dogs attacked. I want to take all the steps I can to make sure that these dogs are never in a position to do this again. For all those dolers who have dealt with this situation in the past what can I expect to happen next? The lady at the council I initially spoke to advised that it is actually quite a long drawn out process. That is fine as we are happy to do whatever it takes to address this but my question is is there anything else that we can/should be doing that we have not thought of? Is this incident sufficient to have the dogs declared dangerous? ed for sp Edited November 16, 2011 by sujo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nekhbet Posted October 11, 2011 Share Posted October 11, 2011 by the word of the law the dogs have 1)rushed at your son and 2)caused physical injury so yes they should be declared dangerous. If not I would be pushing that they are considering it was an unprovoked attack. You seem to have done your bit it's up to the council to do everything now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snoopy21 Posted October 11, 2011 Share Posted October 11, 2011 Maybe a letter from the doctor who saw your son as well, just saying what he saw and did, and receipts to show that you are out of pocket because of this bite. I hope your son is ok and that no infection results from the bite. Why on earth would you leave your gates open so your dogs could run into the street? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
capanash Posted October 11, 2011 Share Posted October 11, 2011 I have been in the same situation after being bitten by a neighbours dog, no other dog involved, just me riding my bike. I made a statement to the council Animal Control officer, he saw my injured leg after I attended the local hospital and this was enough to prove injury. Council was very good keeping in contact, but it did take months to finalise. The case went to court, luckily the owner did not contest the charge so I didn't have to appear. Owner was fined and the dog went to live elsewhere. If the dog was involved in a future attack, it would have been euthanased. I saw the dog a couple of years later, it was staying with the original owners and walking with them in the park. Still rushed at my dogs and anyone else who walked anywhere close. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lugeanjaam Posted October 11, 2011 Author Share Posted October 11, 2011 Thanks for your replies. The officer who was to come out this afternoon is sick so he had to postpone. This is fine as if the man is sick he is sick but my question was is someone able to go to the property and ensure that the dogs are secure. He said that this is there priority and someone will try and make contact with the owners today. He also said that no dogs are registered to that address. The council seems to be taking this seriously which is promising. They did say last night that if the injury is deemed serious enough they wlll prosecute. Hopefully the owners will see sense and realise that their dogs have no right wandering and placing people at risk! The stupidity of some people just does my head in. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dandybrush Posted October 11, 2011 Share Posted October 11, 2011 im pretty sure u could go to the police not just the council regarding this as the policeman i spoke to said they handle when a dog attacks a person not when a dog attacks a dog. I would take the photos and go to the police if as you say its going to be a long drawn out process by the council... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris the Rebel Wolf Posted October 11, 2011 Share Posted October 11, 2011 You have done the right thing Sujo, for everyone involved. I'm glad you asked about the property being secure, as well, obviously as you say the concern is that these dogs may do the same thing again. Hope your son makes a speedy recovery! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Griffo Posted October 11, 2011 Share Posted October 11, 2011 (edited) I actually just had a ranger over at my house this morning taking a statement off me about some local dogs who keep crossing the road to bail me up aggressively while I am running along a local bike path. Even though I have avoided getting bitten by the dogs so far, they took it very seriously and have now issued the owners with a $550 fine. Who knows what would have happened if it had been a child walking past? The ranger told me that if the dog rushes me again then he will keep issuing them with fines and we can even take it a step further and have the dog declared dangerous. In my case the process was very simple and quick with no fuss at all. Some of my family were against me reporting the incidents in case of repercussions e.g. my dogs being poisoned in revenge. I decided to do it anyway because there comes a time when you need to stop being fearful of what could happen and do the right thing. People need to start reporting these roaming dogs before the situation gets to the point where people are attacked - for the sake of the dog and the public. Usually they begin by showing aggressive behaviour and then this progresses into bites and attacks. The dogs from the OP will attack someone else if nothing is done, so good on you for reporting it. It is not your fault and you are not in the wrong. I hope your son recovers ok. Edited October 13, 2011 by Rachelle Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dee lee Posted October 12, 2011 Share Posted October 12, 2011 I actually just had a ranger over at my house this morning taking a statement off me about some local dogs who keep crossing the road to bail me up aggressively while I am running along a local bike path. Even though I have avoided getting bitten by the dogs so far, they took it very seriously and have now issued the owners with a $550 fine. Who knows what would have happened if it had been a child walking past? The ranger told me that if the dog rushes me again then he will keep issuing them with fines and we can even take it a step further and have the dog declared dangerous. In my case the process was very simple and quick with no fuss at all. Some of my family were against me reporting the incidents in case of repercussions e.g. my dogs being poisoned in revenge. I decided to do it anyway because there comes a time when you need to stop being fearful of what could happen and do the right thing. People need to start reporting these roaming dogs before the station gets to the point where people are attacked - for the sake of the dog and the public. Usually they begin by showing aggressive behaviour and then this progresses into bites and attacks. The dogs from the OP will attack someone else if nothing is done, so good on you for reporting it. It is not your fault and you are not in the wrong. I hope your son recovers ok. Rachelle, your experience sounds very similar to mine (which I have posted about before). I love your attitude! My family/friends said the same too, but I agree, you need to stand up for whats right. I do have to say though, I find very frustrating the process to get action. The dog/owner in my situation was warned several times in the past couple of months & has copped 2 fines for being offlead (the attack on my dog was not deemed serious enough to warrant further action :rolleyes: ). Still the idiot owner kept letting it offlead. When it tried again to attack both of us, charging across a road to do so, the ranger told me he would recommend a nuisance order be placed against the dog. Recommend? FFS! He then told me that it is very difficult to get that done & subsequent court cases can be unsuccessful if the owner disputes details. Bloody annoying, not to mention dangerous! Fortunately, this past week or so the owner has finally decided to comply with the law and keep his dog chained up. Hopefully it will last or I will be upping my attack! Sujo, pursue this for all its worth, with a human attack there should be serious consequences. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alyosha Posted October 12, 2011 Share Posted October 12, 2011 Going through the courts is a long and drawn out process whether the matter is run by the Council or by teh Police. If the council are already investigating the police won't step in. The process will be the same. Most offences for dogs that attack and injure people aren't covered by infringement notices (like your one Rachelle) so going through court is the option. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snoopy21 Posted October 12, 2011 Share Posted October 12, 2011 The government appears very concerned about the number of serious dog attacks that have been happening, and yet when a dog bites someone, action is slow? It seems crazy. This dog needs to be off the streets now before it hurts someone else. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris the Rebel Wolf Posted October 12, 2011 Share Posted October 12, 2011 The government appears very concerned about the number of serious dog attacks that have been happening, and yet when a dog bites someone, action is slow? It seems crazy. This dog needs to be off the streets now before it hurts someone else. Totally agree Snoop, well said. Of course they want to be sure mistakes aren't being made, but like in Dee's example which I know has dragged and dragged with her seeing very little action... they are needing to take action. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alyosha Posted October 12, 2011 Share Posted October 12, 2011 Unfortunately the judicial system is slow and bogged down in process. Sometimes slow is ok, if it means being careful and thorough so that maximum effect is obtained from the process. Unfortunately we also live in a litigious society and councils don't want to rush into things and give dangerous dog owners the opportunity for counter action as the whole purpose is then defeated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sandgrubber Posted October 12, 2011 Share Posted October 12, 2011 For perspective . . . in California, any reported dog bite is followed up on nearly immediately and the dog is put into quarantine for observation for a week . . . unless the report is made more than 10 days after the incident. The motive for the law is rabies control, but rabies is very rare, so most of the dogs impounded are just biters. My county takes the law seriously. I had a malicious person report a 6 mo old Labrador pup who put a tooth into him when he was playing with her. Fortunately, he didn't report it for two weeks so they didn't impound, but they would have if he had filed within 10 days. (Maybe they wouldn't have, cause the fellow owns two adult pit bulls, and it would be hard to prove that my pup bit him and not one of his dogs.) If your dog is impounded you get fees galore. You pay for the ranger visit. You pay daily fees for the impoundment. And if you haven't registered your dog, you get to pay high penalties for non-registration. Although I didn't appreciate the attempt to use this law against me maliciously, I think it's a good system . . . it sure provides an incentive for people with mean dogs to keep them confined, and in the old days when there was more rabies around, it probably did a good job of getting rabid animals off the streets. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lugeanjaam Posted October 12, 2011 Author Share Posted October 12, 2011 This is very interesting. Obviously this issue will not be resolved as quickly as I would like. Going through the process is not a issue, even if it is a long one. How do the rangers ensure that these dogs are off the streets in the interim? Do they carry out random checks on the property? It is quite sad to see my son who has always had a great love for dogs very quickly become very wary of all dogs in general. He mentioned that walking to the bus stop after school yesterday he found himself picking up a rolled up newspaper on the side of the road 'just in case'. We are working on resolving this and I truly hope this does not affect his relationship with dogs in the future. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jr_inoz Posted October 13, 2011 Share Posted October 13, 2011 This is very interesting. Obviously this issue will not be resolved as quickly as I would like. Going through the process is not a issue, even if it is a long one. How do the rangers ensure that these dogs are off the streets in the interim? Do they carry out random checks on the property? It is quite sad to see my son who has always had a great love for dogs very quickly become very wary of all dogs in general. He mentioned that walking to the bus stop after school yesterday he found himself picking up a rolled up newspaper on the side of the road 'just in case'. We are working on resolving this and I truly hope this does not affect his relationship with dogs in the future. They don't always check. Case of a dog here in Adelaide who attacked and killed a smaller dog at an off leash park. They said that they would comply with the council and not let their dog return to that park or be offlead whilst the investigation took place. Other community members who witnessed the attack said that the owners had been back at that park just a few days later with the dog, offlead again. Council has done nothing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Griffo Posted October 13, 2011 Share Posted October 13, 2011 Wow these responses really surprise me. The ranger in my area has been so helpful and intent on action. I am surprised that people are having problems like these considering the publicity dog attacks have received in the media of late. The ranger who came to see me yesterday told me that he was heading off to seize a few dogs around the area who have bitten people and they will be put to sleep. One was a rotti who had killed a poodle, another was a pair of dingos who had attacked an elderly woman. I had to report the incident twice, first time the owners were given a verbal warning. The second time I reported it, a fine was issued. However I had given the owners so many chances to do he right thing - I know that dogs can escape accidentally so I tried to be understanding the first few times - but eventually I realised that the owners just didn't give a shit about them harassing other people. The Ranger has encouraged me to take a camera with me to take a photo next time it happens. This will be difficult to do, as most of you know you are too busy trying not to get mauled to think about photographing the incident!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fit for a King Posted October 13, 2011 Share Posted October 13, 2011 It may well depend on the council....Brisbane City Council used to act very quickly when it received reports like this (I reported my neighbour's poodles who were being let loose in the street and attacking other dogs and anyone walking them) - owner warned and fined...her kids let the bloody dogs out again and they attacked two joggers - were very quickly declared dangerous dogs and had to be contained.......she was a complete nutjob - blamed everyone int he street but took no responsibility herself....mind you her kids were feral and used to do some terrible things to the dogs - all reported by witnesses to the RSPCA - now THEY did nothing....... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Griffo Posted October 13, 2011 Share Posted October 13, 2011 Dee Lee, if it happens again do your best to keep your dog tucked behind your back and try to keep yourself between your own dog and the attacking the dog so your dog doesn't get hurt physically. In my experience the worst damage in these incidents are done to the dogs psyche - my dog is on edge the whole time we run past this particular house. I also find that making a huge amount of noise, yelling at the dog in a growl (like you would do to your dog if it was being naughty) and throwing rocks at it can buy you some time. When it comes to protecting my dog i really couldn't care how stupid i look to other people. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dee lee Posted October 13, 2011 Share Posted October 13, 2011 Dee Lee, if it happens again do your best to keep your dog tucked behind your back and try to keep yourself between your own dog and the attacking the dog so your dog doesn't get hurt physically. In my experience the worst damage in these incidents are done to the dogs psyche - my dog is on edge the whole time we run past this particular house. I also find that making a huge amount of noise, yelling at the dog in a growl (like you would do to your dog if it was being naughty) and throwing rocks at it can buy you some time. When it comes to protecting my dog i really couldn't care how stupid i look to other people. That's exactly what I did the second time, Rachelle. I was absolutely not letting this dog anywhere near my dog. My usual tactic of assertive yelling did nothing- which is unusual and does concern me somewhat- its possible it might have bitten me too. However, my yelling alerted the owner who was able to call it off in time. I'd say luckily, except it wouldn't have been an issue if the bloody thing had been on lead like it should be. My dog is very easy going and it doesn't seem to have disturbed her. Co-incidentally, I ran past the dog this morning and it was offlead again. Fortunately it was distracted by something as we passed, so no damage done. I have called and reported it again. I will be chasing it up further later. This time around, I am practicing zero tolerance- I do not want another attack. Sujo, that is very sad about your son. I know how he feels, after I was charged by this dog, I felt traumatised and panicked if approaching the street, and kept an eye out for large sticks beforehand. I hate to say it, but I dont think its so bad he "plans" ahead like that. It may make him feel safer, and its a legitimate fear for him now. Perhaps as time goes on and nothing happens to him he will relax. Re the random checks- the ranger I have been dealing with said he was carrying out checks on the owner, but its all about luck & he wasnt able to catch the guy out. Doesnt help when the owners think they should be allowed to let their dogs offlead to roam. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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