Supporting Roxy – Supporting Responsible Dog Ownership

A Skelmersdale dog owner is fighting to keep her family pet dog Roxy, after council officials refuse to let Roxy continue to live in her council property.

On 7th March Roxys Owner, Sophie attended a microchipping event run by Dogs Trust. Whilst there, Sophie was approached by Phillipa Sandall, Dog Control Enforcement Officer for West Lancashire Borough Council. Ms Sandall informed Sophie that she had no doubt Roxy was a pit bull and that she would be contacting the police. Further, she told Sophie that she could not get Roxy microchipped and she should go home to wait for the police there.

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LEAD Initiative promoting responsible ownership

LEAD (Local Environmental Awareness on Dogs) is an award winning initiative that is recognised as “Best Practice” nationally, and is being used by police forces and local authorities throughout England and Wales; for dealing with nuisance dogs and irresponsible dog owners.

We are happy to inform you that we have also began to receive enquires from Europe, i.e. Netherland National Police Force and the Royal Dutch Association for the Protection of Dogs, with regards to our work.”

You can download the LEAD Initiative leaflet here

Francis – a statement by Trevor Cooper

Below is a statement from good friend and colleague Trevor Cooper who as a result of the case of Battersea dog Francis has been subjected to the most vile and disgusting abuse in the last 24 hours by facebook lawyers who clearly do not understand the law relating to strays.
We are absolutely appalled at the abuse that has been levelled at an organization whose aim was to highlight the flaws in the Dangerous Dogs Act in an effort to change it and which is now being levelled at their legal advisor who also happens to be the leading dog law solicitor in the country (and in our opinion entirely correct)

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Dogs thought to be type and the internet

If you suspect that your dog may be type no amount of posting pictures and inviting opinion on the internet will make things any clearer in fact in all likelihood you will end up more confused than ever (especially when faced with kindly intended but incorrect suggestions that your dog is a Weimaraner cross when you know for a fact your dog has never even seen a weimaraner from across the road let alone been born of one).

A dog cannot be typed definitively from a photograph by anyone, experts included, its not true that the law is simply about the way a dog looks though obviously if the dog does not give the first impression that it resembles a dog of type it isn’t one. The ADBA standard focuses on the ability of a dog to do the job of a fighting dog and any faults it has related to its ability, agility, or stamina will have greater impact on a dogs type that those which are cosmetic only. Photographs can also be deceiving with a dog looking different on practically every one.

It will most likely be suggested if you post online that your dog has been seized, that you set up a support group and start a petition. Petitions are only of use if they are government ones related to the law itself, petitioning for the return of a specific dog to either the police, councils, or to the court are of no use in getting your dog back. The police or council will not release a dog they believe is a banned breed because a petition asks them to.

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