Dog Attack Photos Released

First topic message reminder :

http://www.itv.com/news/anglia/update/2013-03-18/photos-released-after-dog-attack/

I'm sure a lot of you have already seen this story. Thankfully the pictures ITV have uploaded aren't as graphic as some of the ones I have seen from this story. I didn't want to share them before.

It is absolutely horrible and this is the main reason why we all have to deal with criticism so very often. Thankfully the dog, (said here to be a Cocker but from the pictures I saw, it was a King Charles) is still alive but it was a very brutal attack. The Staff X has obviously been used for fighting in the past as it is covered in wounds.

Thankfully the ITV haven't attacked Stafford's as a breed and have directed this story at the person responsible. They have also rightfully called it a "cross".

As a rational adult I know there are always two sides to every story.



As a dog owner I know that incidents between two dogs can happen but not without reason. These reasons are not always apparent to humans.



As a Staffordshire Bull Terrier owner I know people can make unfounded judgements.



For these reasons, when the pictures and post from the owner of Spot, were shared on Facebook I refused to contribute to what became a viral manhunt campaign. Assumptions were made regarding dog fighting. There was gossip, hearsay, racism as well as negativity against the bull breed in general. I was shocked and disgusted by some of the comments I was seeing. I was so disgusted that I ended up willing my friends and rescue contacts not to share the post until all of the facts were known. Eventually, when the post did pop up in my news feed, I tried to remind people that we didn't know all of the facts and that accusations of deliberate dog fighting were just that, accusations and assumptions. I also felt compelled to find the owner of the dog being brandished a devil dog to get his version of events and dispel any rumours of him having any connection to dog fighting. Being local to the area I have been able to do this and here is his version of events – WITHOUT PREJUDICE



His name is Enzo, a Staffordshire Bull Terrier cross American Bulldog and he is a family dog. He was taken in by his 20 year old university student owner when he was being given away at the age of 4/5 months and not in the best condition. Enzo is his first dog. He took good care of Enzo and got him back up to full health. Enzo is a great dog around people (including children) and female dogs. As an un-neutered adolescent male dog he wasn’t that great with other male dogs, which, as most dog owners know isn't unusual. For this reason, he was always walked on a choke chain and lead because he pulls (please note – I do not condone the use of full choke chains but understand that people do use them as training tools).



On the day in question, Friday the 15th of March, Enzo was out with his owner for a walk around the Ouse Valley Golf Club area in Biddenham on his choke chain and lead. They were about 20 metres away from Spot and his owner when Spot started barking. This alerted Enzo to Spot's presence. Enzo had not been pulling on his choke chain (so it was loose) and he backed up. This action meant that he was able to get free from his collar. Enzo ran over to Spot, who was off lead, and his owner ran after him. The two dogs became involved in a fight and despite what the photographs on Facebook show, Spot was fighting back. Enzo’s owner estimates that the fight lasted for no more than seven to eight minutes and during that time Spot’s owner hit Enzo with her lead and the two passers-by hit Enzo which only succeeded in exacerbating the situation. It is understandable that people panic in these situations and Enzo’s owner was trying to deal with the dogs calmly. He put his hands in Enzo’s mouth to break up the fight and then restrained Enzo.



Once the dogs had been separated, the owner offered to pay Spot’s vet fees but his owner wanted to go through insurance which Enzo’s owner did not have. Thinking that dog insurance works in the same way as car insurance (i.e. you have to have it), Enzo’s owner panicked and gave false details. Enzo’s owner states that 38 photographs were taken by Spot’s owner and that she was I fact bitten by her own dog, not Enzo. Enzo’s owner did not just run away, he viewed the pictures that had been taken whilst apologising and still offering to pay for Spot’s vet fees. He felt that he had done all that he could and both owners went their separate ways.



Then the manhunt started on Facebook. As a result of this Enzo’s owner received death threats and he and his family have been harassed on the street. He felt that he had no choice but to go to the police with Enzo and was made to sign Enzo over. To the owners knowledge, Enzo has not been classed as a pitbull type but has been destroyed under the Dangerous Dogs Act. At present, he is unclear as to what section of the Dangerous Dogs Act exactly because it has not been properly explained to him. No charges have been brought against Enzo’s owner at this time.



By writing and publishing this account, I am in no way playing down the injuries that Spot sutained or the distress Spot’s owner must have felt, or condoning Enzo's owner for giving false details.



My sole purpose for writing this is to put forward the other side of the story in the interests of fairness.

I saw this on fb and I reckon this is prob true version as I still don't know why owner took so many photos

Thank you Claire for this update - I guess we'll never know the full truth of the matter.

It's sad to learn that Enzo has been destroyed. The police must have thought that he was "pit-bull type" (the Daily Mail described the dog as a Pit Bull in their report!) and/or they were convinced that Enzo had bitten the woman, otherwise I think I'm correct in saying that they wouldn't have been bothered about a fight between dogs or taken Enzo in. And then at least one vet would need to confirm that Enzo was aggressively dangerous, otherwise he would not have been destroyed so quickly (unless the owner agreed to it). I could be mistaken.

Very sad for all concerned.