Deffo report it to the police, make sure that you get an incident number.
Out of interest, there must be other incidents of out control dogs attacking other dogs and livestock. I'd imagine that if they are also reporting these incidents then the police will be forced into action. Only a matter of time I guess.
Report it to 101.
If they start to get a lot of them or a pattern is visible then they might start doing something about it. If no one tells the Police then they won’t know about it.
Dog attacks are on the rise in Bristol, and I assume other places as well.
I am of the opinion that you should only be allowed a dog that you can physically restrain yourself. So Duane Johnson can have what he wants, but a small or feeble person can have a chihuahua. That way there should be less children and adults attacked by dogs.
I like dogs and don’t like the idea of animals being hurt (or destroyed because they are deemed dangerous) but if a dog attacked my kids (or anyone’s) then I would be hurting the dog if I needed to.
There absolutely wasn’t any intent by the owner – she was in a right panic. However I suspect in the back of her mind she was thinking, shit if that idiot gets bitten then I might have to say goodnight to fido. I doubt she had any real concern for my well being.
Thats not good enough.
I completely agree but the law you were quoting mentions intent. There was no real intent to injure you, just a clueless owner who should know better.
Report it to the police but as some people have said. Be prepared to to be disappointed. All they will do is make a note. You have no name, picture or pretty much anything else to identify the culprits. Yes it's not good enough but with resources pretty much cut to the bone, I doubt they are going to give it much priority.
So you think it could be assault but you won’t report it?
Then you’re as much a part of the problem as the dog owner.
Just ring 101 (not 111 unless you want an ambulance) and report where it was and when and a vague description of the dog (big/small, white/brown/green/etc) and the owner (man/woman/child).
You might be the 20th person to report it and something happens or the parent of the 4 year old child with life altering scars and PTSD might be the 20th.
It’s like any crime, if the police don’t know about it then they cannot do anything about it.
Otherwise you’re just a whinger on an internet forum looking for sympathy/a fight.
It's not assault but it's a breach of the Dangerous Dogs Act - it's a dog out of control in a public place.
Report to Police. They may not be able to do much about this incident now, but they do react to repeated reports/patterns.
Lots of press coverage around dog attacks recently, another child killed in the news this morning.
Alternatively, get a sheep and a shotgun, you can deal with it yourself if it's worrying your livestock.
From our councils dog warden website pages...
Report an out of control dog
If a dog has not been kept under control, and is causing alarm and apprehensiveness to you or someone else, report the incident to our dog warden.Report a dangerous dog
If a dog has bitten or injured a person, or seriously injured another animal, you should report it to Police Scotland by calling 101.
So bitten/injured call 101. Causing alarm and not under control the Dog Warden. Every LA should have one.
Worth saying one more time - I think it's the 3RD TIME.
It is NOT an assault.
See DANGEROUS DOGS ACT S3. It is, potentially, a dog dangerously out of control & the maximum sentence if someone dies due to injuries suffered in a dog attack is 14 YEARS.
Your dog is considered out of control if:
"Your dog is considered dangerously out of control if it:
injures someone
makes someone worried that it might injure them
A court could also decide that your dog is dangerously out of control if either of the following apply:
it attacks someone’s animal
the owner of an animal thinks they could be injured if they tried to stop your dog attacking their animal"
https://www.gov.uk/control-dog-public
https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1991/65/section/3
If it is Adur /Worthing or Brighton , inform the dog warden.
As a dog owner, all owners need to control their dogs at all times. And as a cyclist, I realise what a Buch of ****wits many of them are
Alternatively, get a sheep and a shotgun, you can deal with it yourself if it’s worrying your livestock.
This could be the basis for a fun Mint Sauce strip 🙂
I brought a special forces camelbak. Can be easily converted into an armoured sleeve and, if you get the right attachments, also as a rocket launcher.
Highly recommended.
More seriously. Report it. Unlikely to help immediately but if there is a pattern than it might add up and would undermine any defence of "its never done that before" when it attacks someone else.
Right, partly for those interested but especially for those who don't actually read posts but answer anyway.
I KNOW dog attacks are not classed as assault, either those that result in injury or those that may well have done had it not been for the actions of the innocent party - But I think they SHOULD be.
I have reported the incident using 999 (ONLY KIDDING), but the incident has been reported and logged. Thank you to those who posted this was worthwhile - it was.
I DO NOT own a tactical support camelbak but have an EDC Osprey but it WASN'T half price but it DID come with a bladder.
Right, thats cleared everything up and I hope this thread dies a death and I never have to talk about dogs again
So that will never happen.....
Where on the SDW was this. A few other downs riders on here, good to know so can keep an eye and report if happens to us too.
Have to say as a bike rider, bmw driver and dog owner, there are lots of different behaviours folks on this thread are ascribing to those stereotypes, but it's probably a minority behaving badly.
I brought a special forces camelbak
Where did you bring it to? Never bring a Camelbak to a dog fight.
Another balanced STW thread...
Not downplaying the OP's fear/hatred of dogs, but we're really not far here from 'All cyclists jump red lights, ride on pavements and are a constant threat to other road users'.
I love that paragraph of Richards cycling book, it’s just so ridiculously over the top.
So much more challenging now we carry co2 cartridges but still doable. Steady hand and a good aim needed.
Glad you’re okay Winston. I love dogs but agree that there should be stricter rules on ownership and training. Quite a few breeds are bred for specific purposes and people don’t look at this, they just like the look of the dog. That is a recipe for disaster.
Genuinely saddens me to see absolute ****wits in charge of breeds that take a lot of management. Getting dragged down the street by a powerful dog on a ****ing extender lead.
It happened on the bridleway that leads from just past the Old Forge pub in South Heighton (near Newhaven) up past Pages New Barn to the SDW. The stretch near the beginning runs parallel to a permissive path which then loops off the teh right - this loop is a favourite for dogwalkers and in fact the other bridleway that comes back into Denton from Snap Hill is nicknamed dogshit alley for obvious reasons (another little bonus the dog owners give the rest of us). This is a very popular track for all sorts of users wanting to access the downs from Newhaven, Denton etc and often has families walking on it - not the place for a dangerous dog off a lead.
Cheers @winston. Don't know that bridleway, but have been down the one a bit east from there that comes down from Bo Peep and Gardener's Hill to Denton. As you say busy w families and dogwalkers. Not one of my regular loops.
Unlucky to come across such an unpleasant beast. I haven't had that misfortune up on the Firle or Ditchling ridge.
tonyf1
So much more challenging now we carry co2 cartridges but still doable. Steady hand and a good aim needed.
is nicknamed dogshit alley for obvious reasons (another little bonus the dog owners give the rest of us)
*SOME of the dog owners.
As a dog owner myself seeing dog turds on pavements, parks, footpaths and bridleways makes me legitimately angry.
Fed up of dogs too. In the USA I kept bearspray on me at all times and the closest I came to deploying it was into a dog's face (given the amount of bears, wolves, moose, the only animals which attacked/chased me were dogs). Was sad to give it up when I came back to Europe.
When I lived in the North West, the trend was there was have mutant XL "bullies" which are effectively furry shotguns over which the owner would have virtually no control if it went off. In the USA, I understand these dogs can take several shots from a 9mm before they are calmed.
I carry a knife these days as a last means of defense as I live in a place where huge mountain dogs can attack you and with no one around, at least I can hurt it back if it comes down to it. I really would love some bear-grade pepper spray but as far as I know you can't get it around here. I did think about buying a hatchet as I think you could do a lot of damage quickly even against larger dogs (the type I encounter are highly aggressive 60kg Spanish mattifs and getting chased by two is tramuatic).
Once in Iceland, I crossed a farm (public right of way) and was attacked by a huge black lab which tried to tear chunks out of my legs while the owner casually watched until he called it after a few mins). I had to use the bike to stop it from biting me. If I'd been hiking it would have probably resulted in life-threatening injuries. Dog owners can be the worst and I'd much rather they got pepper sprayed than the dog.
It's awful to have to plan for these situations but as someone pointed out, dog and dog attacks are becoming more and more common. As a runner/cyclsit I've been chased, harrasssed and once bitten by a dog. I can testify that having another animal attack you voilently and bite into your flesh is extremely unpleasant and activates very strong violent impluses to defend yourself and counter attack, which is also unpleasant and could result in you getting arrested for assault.
I completely relate with the OP and glad they managed to stay calm and safe.
I think it was fossy who said "What if I’d have been a child !"
Well 52 years ago I was that child, walking with my great uncle on a canal footpath a large dog (bulldog sort of thing I'm told) shot out of the undergrowth and knocked me down and pinned me by the throat to the ground!
Now my great uncle wasn't that confident around dogs either but had been a good enough football player in the army and had a good kick that probably badly injured the dog enough that it let go. I still have a 3" scar + puncture wounds very visible on the left of my neck, I had many nightmares as a result of that attack, when your 5 bad things that happen to leave a lasting memory to this day.
As a result even as a 6'3" lump of a bloke I am still not comfortable around bigger dogs, so on the odd occasion where an owner will say "oh they are just being friendly" It might seem over the top when I say get them out of my ****ing space but unless you are me don't judge.
Due to many friends having dogs I'm getting slightly more confident but I still have a very wary streak.
*SOME of the dog owners.
As a dog owner myself seeing dog turds on pavements, parks, footpaths and bridleways makes me legitimately angry.
Me too. Lost count of the heated discussions with other dog owners to pick up their dogs shit. Shouldn't be like that but some people are just turds
