Dog mauled cat, neighbours' harassment, court on 30/11/07

[demon_x_slash]

Well, if a half-hysterical woman is shouting down the phone that she's currently keeping a mad and dangerous Staffordshire Bull Terrier at bay with a broom as it tries to get into her house to go for her son and cat, it probably racks the priority up a notch.

[den3371]

[powelll]

Any news? What did the police say?

[nannamoon1]

you can pay £3.00 and type in the address and this site will tell you the names of the persons registered there...

 

hope this helps

 

http://www.onlinesearches

 

great little site;)

[den3371]

Any news? What did the police say?

 

Yes I spoke to the Police, no they won't do anything, it's all so frustrating!! I also managed to talk to the Dog Warden from the local council again, she can't do anything as it was on Private Property. Had it been on a Housing Association or Council Property she could intervene but as it wasn't, she couldn't!!

 

I have also found out today that the name who is registered against 'his' car is not him!! (Confusing??) His name is definately Terry, the car is registered in somebody else's name and address.

 

Back to square one!

[den3371]

you can pay £3.00 and type in the address and this site will tell you the names of the persons registered there...

 

hope this helps

 

www.onlinesearches

 

great little site;)

 

Hi NanMoon and thank you, this guy doesn't seem to be registered anywhere!!! But will give it a go!

[blacksheep1979]

there may be the possibility that its either

 

a. a dodgy car stolen etc

b. he's using someone elses reg to avoid tax, speeding fines etc

 

of course it could just be a mates car. Is the address its reg'd at anywhere near you at all?

[den3371]

Hi

 

The address is about 15-20 miles from me. He has had this car for ages, but low and behold it hasn't been around now since a couple of days ago. I think it may just be that I take his girlfriend to the small claims court as I know her details.

[blacksheep1979]

hmmm the only prob with the g'friend is that if she turns round and says they're not her dogs (which they're not supposedly) then the judge may just turf the case out - just more expense to you there. Maybe try the postie again.

[den3371]

I will have to stalk the Postie then :o

 

Just had a visit from my next door neighbour (not the guy with the dogs!!) she was aking after our cat and whilst we were chatting she said she remebered 'when the dog attacked the girl in the back garden, and she was screaming for help!' I obviously didn't know about this and told her that when I reported the dog attack on my cat to the Police, I was asked if these dogs had attacked anyone, of course my response was 'not to my knowledge'.

 

I mentioned this to my Neighbour who said that if I wanted to call them again, she would happily mention and and said that other Neighbours know about it as people came out of their block to help. Apparently this happened last summer.

[delboytrotter]

"Dogs can be dangerous when they get out of control. If you are worried about a dangerous dog, you should contact the police. If there is an area where dogs are often a nuisance, you can tell your local authority. They can make local laws or, in England, a dog control order, to make owners keep dogs on leads in particular areas or to ban dogs from places like children's playgrounds."

 

The wording above is from the Advice Guide Website and does not state anything about private property or otherwise, i am sure that any complaints made to the council need to be looked into even on private property, after all if enough people complain about a dog barking it can be taken away, so surely if they seem threatning then the same applies...i would not put up with it if i was you, enough complaints will put these dogs where they belong.

[den3371]

I think I will write to the Police at my Local Station and put it all in writing. Everytime I call, I get through to a 'call centre' and all they say is that they will pass it on, but as it is a civil matter.................................

 

Thanks

[powelll]

I'm sure they'll still see it as a civil matter when one of them tears a kid's face off... best of luck hun keep plugging away

[oojakapipi]

Surely if it is a communal garden then it is a public place and the Dog Warden could remove the dog if is is off-lead and unsupervised. I would be very tempted to let the dog into the house next time it comes calling, lock it in the kitchen away from the cat/family and call the Dog Warden. When they come to pick it up they can scan the dog and if you are lucky there will be a microchip which gives the owners details. The address may be out of date as many people forget to update when they move, but at least you will have their name. Sometimes a dog is sold with a microchip that is registered to the breeder, if this is the case (which I doubt in this case) then the breeder can give the Dog Warden the owners details. However, legal ownership of the dog becomes a grey area as the 'owner' is considered to be the person to whom the microchip is registered, and it is then down to the 'owner' to prove that the dog was sold on. I know all this because I worked in this area, and issues with microchips are a bit frustrating to say the least.

 

Doing this may aggrevate the neighbour considerably so I'm not sure it's a good move.

 

Many councils are now banning certain breeds of dog from living in council accomodation, for obvious reasons. I would phone the council and make a complaint about the dog as they have to investigate a potential danger to the public if it is on their property. You have witnesses to an attack on a child who can back you up. Most councils are very strict with their tennants and their animals anti social behaviour.

 

I think the first thing you need to do is find out about the child who was attacked and speak to her parents. Even if they didn't pursue the owner I'm sure they will support your claim that the dog is dangerous, which will put more weight behind your complaint to the council. The Dangerous Dog Act doesn't cover attacks on other animals, but if the dog has behaved in an aggressive way towards a person the police have to get involved. The dog will be assessed and at the very least the owner will be made to keep the dog on lead and muzzled in all areas where it could pose a danger, which would include a communal garden.

 

They are obviously not responsible owners as they are still allowing the dogs to roam unsupervised after they have attacked your cat and possibly a child. I really hope you are able to find out about the child that was attacked, as it is not fair that your child is scared of dogs that are loose in an area where he should be able to play safely.

[den3371]

Thanks oojakapipi

 

The problem I have is that it isn't a Council block of flats. These are private flats and that is why the Dog warden is powerless to act. Now whether the flat they are in is rented to the Council - I don't know.

 

The owner thinks he has got away with it, as I have not been to see him, but I am just biding my time now until my cat's treatment is complete and I have his Surname (there must be a way?). He will then get an LBA before Court proceedings.

 

The person who was attacked last summer was the guy's Partner - not a child, this is what I have been told, as I didn't know anything about it until the other day.

[oojakapipi]

Oh sorry, I thought that I read that they were living in council property. There is another way, I read somewhere that you can get the name of the owner of the property from the land registry for a small fee of (I think) £1/£2. Someone else may be able to point you in the right direction on that. Then you could write to the landlord about it.

 

The problem is that the attack on a person is (at the moment) hearsay, so you would need to find out more and speak to the people involved before you can go to the police with your complaint. When you say the dog attacked the guys partner do you mean the owners partner?

 

Good luck.

[dw190]

Oh sorry, I thought that I read that they were living in council property. There is another way, I read somewhere that you can get the name of the owner of the property from the land registry for a small fee of (I think) £1/£2. Someone else may be able to point you in the right direction on that. Then you could write to the landlord about it.

 

The problem is that the attack on a person is (at the moment) hearsay, so you would need to find out more and speak to the people involved before you can go to the police with your complaint. When you say the dog attacked the guys partner do you mean the owners partner?

 

Good luck.

 

Land Register Online

[den3371]

Yes, she is the owners Partner! So highly unlikely she would admit to it and probably never reported the incident either!

 

I know I can get the owners details from the Land registry and will give that a go, but if I contact the owners do you think they would give me thrie details, my other concern is that this guy doesn't appear to be registered anywhere, so the Owner may not even know of his existence.

[oojakapipi]

OMG, if the dog has attacked a person that is known to them it is dangerous. Don't go down the route of 'allowing' it into your home to see if there is a microchip unless you are very confident around unpredictable dogs.

If the Dog Warden is on your side (I'm sure they are) then I would ask them if they would contact the owner of the property on your behalf. The Landlord may not even be aware that there are dogs in their property and may have rules about pets, to be honest if I was in your position I would be doing everything possible to get the dogs removed from any area that my cat/child is at risk.

The owner has forced you into a position where you need to contact the Landlord, so I wouldn't feel guilty about it. If I am reading correctly, the dogs owner isn't the tenant, so it still may not get you their name, but at least you may get a situation where your cat/child is able to use the garden without fear of being attacked.

 

There is always the route of a Private Detective but I don't know anything about how expensive that would be.

[den3371]

Thanks everyone, nightmare eh?

 

My regular Postman still hasn't been on the round so there may be a chance he knows, but as time goes on I thinks it's highly unlikely this guy will have mail going there seeing as nothing seems to be registered in his name for that address.

 

Again the Dog Warden said she can't do anything as it's on private land not Council! I know some of you have cut and paste info about the law etc, it amazes me that they have this, yet are reluctant to do anything about it.

[blacksheep1979]

Can you get their phone number?

 

If so get someone to call up, pretend that they are from a radio station and that their number has been picked at random. Go on to say they are in line for a £2k plasma tv or similar and get them to confirm their details, name, address etc......

[den3371]

Hi blacksheep, from what I can gather they don't have a landline at all.

 

I say this because when the attack happened and I had managed to get our cat back in the house, I went to see them, he wasn't there and his Partner said he had gone to use the Payphone.

[dw190]

I dont know if it has been mentioned but as the Council Dog Warden cannot do anything and the Police seem to give the same response.

 

Have you considered contacting the RSPCA?

[den3371]

Hi dw190

 

Yes I have also called the RSPCA - again thay cannot intervene as it is a civil matter and there was no cruelty.

 

I think I have just about exhausted every avenue at the moment.

 

The Dog was out there again yesterday but at the front of the flats, no lead, no collar etc.

[Darren]

 

The Dog was out there again yesterday but at the front of the flats, no lead, no collar etc.

 

does the management company have any rules about this?