'Lead the Way' campaign successfully secures Holyrood Control of Dogs debate

Holyrood is set to debate whether the Control of Dogs Act needs an overhaul, after a successful campaign by Clyde News.

Our ‘Lead the Way’ investigation found an alarming number of children in Glasgow and the West are being attacked by dogs every year, despite the legislation which should protect them.

Our findings shocked former justice secretary Alex Neil and he submitted a motion to have the situation looked at.

Mr Neil told our political correspondent Alan Smith local authorities are not doing enough to enforce the legislation they already have:

It is being backed by 20 MSPs and the Scottish Parliament will now take a look at whether the law needs tightened.

Among the MSPs giving us their support is Labour's Jackie Baillie, the Scottish Green's John Finnie and Jenny Gilruth from the SNP.

Kristina Stirton’s daughter Kinzara was viciously attacked by a dog at a shop in Paisley two years ago.

The 3 year-old (now 5) needed four operations to reconstruct her face.

Kristina spoke to our reporter Natalie Crawford and says she has had no justice:

Debbie’s 5 year-old daughter was bitten on the face by a terrier type dog in June 2016; she had to get a tetanus vaccination and has been left with a scar.

It was reported to Police Scotland who were unable to do anything because the animal is not considered a dangerous breed.

Debbie* said: “We are at a friend’s house and she was in another room and all of a sudden she came in and told us the dog had bitten her face. She was very calm. She was in shock.

“My first reaction was to get her to the hospital because her face was bleeding quite badly. It’s all a bit of a blur.

“She has a scar on her face. When you look closely you can see teeth marks and she was terrified of dogs afterwards.”

Joyce Botts husband Stevie was bitten on the face by an Alsatian-type dog in March last year.

He has been left with long-term damage, including no feeling in his bottom lip.

Joyce is a dog groomer who works with problem dogs and said: “I was at work when Stevie called me to say he’d be bitten. I didn’t really take it seriously, I just thought he’d have been nipped. But, I said I’d take him to the hospital and I was really quite shocked when I saw the mess he was in.

“Animals don’t have the same instincts as humans do but I also think it’s down to owners to make sure their animals are as well trained as possible, but also I don’t think any dog could be 100% trust worthy.

“We’ve got animals of our own, we’ve got dogs and horses. We’ve also got a grandson and we would never consider leaving him alone with any of the animals.

“You don’t know what is going through their heads. We’ve often wondered if the dog that bite Stevie saw his beard and thought it’d seen something it hadn’t. You just don’t know."

Have you been affected by an dog bite? Are you one of the hundreds of parents who have rushed their kids to hospital with bite injuries in Glasgow this year? Email the news team at clydenews@radioclyde.com.

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