MSP calls for dangerous dog law review after Clyde News investigation

An MSP is calling for an urgent review of the Control of Dogs act, after Clyde News revealed the number of attacks in Glasgow and the West is on the rise.

Alex Neil introduced the Control of Dogs act in 2008, it was passed in 2010 and he says local authorities are not doing enough to enforce it.

He spoke to our political editor Alan Smith:

A Clyde News investigation has discovered the number of people who have visited A&E because of attack injuries has gone up by around 10% over the last two years.

Between January and June, this year 205 children have been to A&E because of dog bites and in 2015, 1,939 people received treatment.

In 2016, the figure rose to 2,027 people.

One thousand and fifty-seven children and adults went to hospital after being bitten in the NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde health board area in the first 6 months of 2017.

A spokesman for the council said: “Dangerous dogs that cause serious injury are a matter for the police.

“However, as a local authority, we are fully aware of our responsibilities in respect of the control of dogs legislation.

“We are currently implementing a plan to train up more officers to deal with dogs that are out of control.

“This will assist our efforts to improve the behaviour of dogs and their owners in Glasgow."

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.

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