Dear Resident,

Re: DANGEROUSLY OUT OF CONTROL DOG ATTACK.

On Saturday 18th August on our development at around 11am there was a serious, unprovoked dog attack on an elderly resident of Thomas Road. The dog (A Wiemaraner) was left home alone, broke out of the front door and attacked the individual on her own property next door resulting in hospitalisation (multiple deep puncture wounds) and now ongoing physical and mental trauma.

The Wiemaraner is not classed as a dangerous breed. Four types of dog were banned in the UK in 1991, but since then 70% of dog-related deaths have been caused by those not prohibited by legislation (BBC News). The law is under review as of May 2018 and it is now generally accepted that cases should now be dog specific rather than breed specific. The law that applies to all dogs states that it is an offence for a dog to be dangerously out of control in a private or public place and a dog that is dangerously out of control is one that has injured another person - hence the need for urgent action, if this attack had been on a child it could well have died.

The Police/RSPCA/Dog Warden have yet to act & remove/rehome the dog & the owners are also unwilling to do so. We all understand the affiliation & love we have for our pets, however the risk of a dangerous dog on the street that has the potential to fatally injure us, our children our grandchildren or our pets, regardless of it ‘never having done it before' is not one that we should be willing to tolerate and clearer ownership & responsibility is required from the decision makers.

One serious attack is more than enough. Should we have to wait for somebody to die before any definitive action is taken by the authorities or the owners? – Having to scrub a significant amount of a relative’s blood from the streets is not something I would wish on anybody else.

Dogs do not attack unprovoked for no reason, it is understood that this dog is very rarely, if ever walked so the containment & isolation (neglect) together with its natural hunting & territorial instinct may have contributed to cause psychological damage to the animal leading to the attack. (Please note - this is just my opinion from subsequent research - I am a concerned neighbour & parent, not a professional vet or animal psychologist)

There are many responsible dog owners in the neighbourhood and it is natural of an urban development like ours to see them being walked and hear them playing in the garden. There is no issue here with responsible dog owners who walk their dog, socialise them and provide their dog with a healthy environment, in fact we need your support as responsible owners to continue to promote the welfare of dogs.

I kindly request your support to help contribute to a safer environment for us all bearing the above and the following in mind:

-       The attacked resident, who moved to the development to be closer to her grandchildren & great grandchildren, is now afraid to have them in & around her house for fear of the dog unexpectedly getting to them & killing them. (The dog has already previously damaged the garden fence trying to get through and it was repaired/reinforced by Redrow).

-       The attacked resident is afraid to return home and upon doing so should not have to live in fear, every time she leaves the front door and be unable to enjoy her grandchildren & great grandchildren playing safely in her garden

-       You will be risking your own and your children’s safety in future if you visit, or let your children visit the new play area at the end of Thomas Road as you will need to walk past the house where the dangerous dog resides.

-       The Ice Cream van regularly stops close to where the dog resides. We should not have to risk our children’s safety in order to let them buy an ice cream.

Please sign this petition and help support us to bring decisive action and assist in trying to make our development a safe environment for all of our families.

Thanks,

Andrew & Becky, 7 Thomas Road.