Fylde family grieving for pet urge support for petitions over dog-on-dog attacks

At present, owners can only be charged if their dog is 'dangerously out of control' and a risk to the public, and such prosecutions are rare.

Two petitions, one with a deadline of Tuesday, April 27 and started by a woman whose dog died in such an attack earlier year, and the other with a deadline of July, are aiming to get the matter debated in Parliament with a view to the current laws being reviewed.

"The aim is to make dog on dog attacks a specific criminal offence and we would urge people to support it," said Georgia Motley, whose mother was with eight-year-old King Charles spaniel Ruby when the pet was attacked on St Annes Promenade on April 22 by two dogs, thought to be German shepherds, which suddenly appeared and went for Ruby.

The police were called and the owners traced but the Motley family are frustrated that the incident only resulted in a Community Protection Warning from the police and a Dog Control Order by the dog warden.

"Owners must be help responsible for their dogs and must be held accountable for unprovoked attacks," said Georgia.

"We have lost a member of our family - we are all devastated. I really hope people will support these petitions."

An RSPCA spokesman said: “Owners have a responsibility to ensure their dogs are under proper control at all times.

“It’s therefore vital owners understand the circumstances likely to lead to their dog being aggressive and also the signs of potential aggressive behaviour in their dogs so that they can take steps to prevent incidents from occurring. Keeping dogs on a lead in appropriate places can also reduce the risk of incidents.

“We urge anyone with concerns about their dog’s behaviour to seek advice from their vet who may refer them to an appropriately qualified clinical animal behaviourist.

“If your dog is attacked by another dog, we advise you to report this to the police.”

The petitions can be accessed at:

https://www.change.org/.../government-dog-on-dog-attacks.... and

https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/568457.

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