My girlfriend has a lovely, lovely, gentle Labradoodle called Barney..he’s an old soul now at age 13 and is getting a bit frail as they do 😥 and has a bit of the classic Labradoodle back legs going thing.

Photo for kicks…
[url=https://flic.kr/p/Uddx4r]IMG_20170312_171847613-01[/url] by Kayak23, on Flickr

Anyway, this old couple down the road foster Boxer dogs, usually troubled ones that can’t be rehomed from rescue centres etc. We get on ok with the couple who are fellow allotmentists.

The last boxer they had was pure evil and used to kick off big style when she and Barney would encounter them. That one has since died and they’ve had another younger one some time now. This young one also kicks off at the slightest glimpse of Barney and snaps and lurches at his lead pulling the old bloke who generally does very, very little to stop the situation. Normally just stands there dumbfounded like a dick.

So about 3 months ago it all kicked off big time inside the allotment gates and this boxer, lurching at his lead went for poor Barney, biting him in the process but not badly. Girlfriend jumped in and the dog was pulled away. A few moments after (bloke hadn’t gone away still) it all reared up again but this time the dog slipped its lead and dived at Barney attacking him. My girlfriend also dived in to try to stop the boxer, got scratched in the process but eventually stopped it but only by pretty much lying on top of Barney.

Afterwards, it turned out that he had a minor puncture wound to his body, but one of his claws had been ripped up, possibly by the piling on.

He’s an old dog and so this hit him hard. He had to have an operation to remove the claw and weeks of recovery. During this time after approaching the bloke, they agreed to pay a bit towards the vet bill for all this and gave my gf about £110.

Barney didn’t get better. He’s had many, many subsequent visits to the vets, causing lots of insurance claims (and she can only claim a percentage as he’s an older dog) and just before the weekend, due to the toe not getting better and infection spreading despite two types of antibiotics, Barney had to have the toe amputated…

That’s where we’re at now. Hopefully, hopefully it’s going to heal up now and he can enjoy some older life normally.

A few weeks back she wrote a letter detailing all the events, vet visits etc and her anxiety about walking now in case she were to meet him again. She suggested he get a more suitable lead such as the ones that harness to the owner as he clearly doesn’t have the strength to control it..She also suggested on advice that he may be able to claim off his insurance for this. There is an annual limit which she is near to and should anything else be around the corner she’d be stuffed.
He basically blanked us after this. Gf has seen him but he hurried off the other way.

A friend and neighbour bumped into him yesterday and confronted him, and he basically denies any responsibility..

I don’t think that’s right.
I’m sure we can’t really do anything but it’s making me angry.

Aside from the whole hoofing of slats thing, what would STW do about it?
😐

Find out who is homing the boxer dogs with him and let them know the situation. If they are a responsible body they’ll take the dog of the couple and rehome others with him. Given the attack a word with the local bobbies my be a good idea.

Really feel for you on the old dog.

Yep. Need to stop this at source, best to speak to rehoming charity that is sending him the dogs

Is sounds like you have been very reasonable and measured. Now time to escalate.

What about a muzzle for the boxer if it kicks off with a lot of other dogs.

If you are already seriously out of pocket then wait until you know the total cost, send a letter before action then small claims court. He didn’t keep his dog under control, your property has been damaged as a result.

And what mt says.

You’ll probably find your prize leeks dying mysteriously though.

FIDO website is worth reading.

Thanks all. Talking to the organisation is a good idea..I’ll look into that.

We’ve had so many confrontations with his aggro dogs that it sort of became normal. It’s just his total inaction that annoys me. Just stands there doing nowt. 👿

If the old fella is running away at the sight of your gf then it is less likely anyway to escalate into another dog on dog/gf situation. Situation resolved?
It isn’t clear from your op whether you’re persuing the couple for vet costs or not, was this the purpose of the letter?

I can’t understand why people rehome dogs such as these (the boxer). I understand that in the vast majority of cases it’s not the dog’s fault and they’ve more than likely turned out like that because of ill treatment by people.
But when they are rehomed by dogooders who ultimately act in an irresponsible and actually totally selfish way by having a dog that they can’t or won’t control who goes round putting other dogs’ lives in danger and generally making their lives a misery, then I think if a truly suitable home can’t be found then it might be best to end their suffering as well as not letting them cause any more harm to anyone else. Sounds harsh but it’s not like there’s not an endless supply of unwanted dogs in shelters. Of course any dog can show aggression but when it’s this extreme I think letting them go is probably the best course of action. Perhaps more severe punishments for people who brutalise the dogs in the first place might mean fewer end up in the state this boxer clearly has too.

You might have guessed I’ve had my own issues with aggressive dogs and people failing to control them! But just to say glad to hear Barney is alright and good on your girlfriend for jumping in like that.

I would talk to my local authority dog warden. They spend only a fraction of their time rounding up strays and spend much more time dealing with animals that are not fully under control, and their owners. They will also be able to explain the process for dog enforcement orders, nuisance animals etc.

If the old fella is running away at the sight of your gf then it is less likely anyway to escalate into another dog on dog/gf situation. Situation resolved?

Well, he said that he’d only walk it at certain times and stop using the side gate to the allotment (right outside gf’s front door) where the incident happened. He has stopped using that gate I think but still, they’re relative neighbours and it’s easy to round a corner and be confronted. He’s not changed the lead type to a more secure type.

It isn’t clear from your op whether you’re persuing the couple for vet costs or not, was this the purpose of the letter?

The letter was because he obviously only thinks that we had a single vet visit and that was it. Sorted. We’ve had several after that not to mention ongoing drug treatments and now (after the letter) a toe amputation. All this has cost my poor gf hundreds. She can claim some of it back but as I say, only a percentage. Plus if you use up your annual allowance and something else comes up which can be likely in an older dog, then you’re left footing the whole bill.

I don’t think she wants him to pay out of his pocket, but we were led to believe that he may be able to make some sort of claim on his dog insurance.
If he couldn’t do that, then the very least might be that he, as a decent person, may have offered to help with costs or basically, just accept some responsibility for his part in Barney’s suffering and perhaps say he’s sorry about it. Instead, denial.

I just think he’s not a decent person and I’m not keen on him not taking any responsibility in how he looks after his dogs.
There has been other incidents with other dogs in the neighborhood by the way…
😐

Dog warden for certain, and if possible find out who is rehoming the dog with him.

Feel so sorry for poor Barney, hope he heals up fast mate.

Absolutely agree that the rescue place needs to be told – it’s up to them to rehome dogs responsibly and ensure they’re in a suitable place with knowledgeable fosters. If an aggressive dog is out without a muzzle (sounds like it needs one), it should at the very least have a decent harness and a walker capable of holding the dog back.

Ummm, turns out the rescue place is them…
They are the boxer rescue people, not just fosterers.
So grassing them up to themselves is out…
Dog warden next step.

Are rescue places regulated/licenced? If so give the relevent folks a call.

Are they using their home as a rescue centre then?

They also don’t sound like the sort of people with the strength of character to help dogs with issues.

I wonder if a rescue centre needs any sort of licensing with the local authority. Chances are, the local dog warden will already be aware of them.

Dog warden.

I’d also check their licensed..

Possibly inform whoever’s licensed them of what’s happened.

I really feel your old boy…

License
Dog boarding etc..