Dangerous Dog Attack - Police Drop Case

Case study summary

Our client's dog escaped from its lead and attacked another dog. The dog's owner reacted by punching our client and then demanded a large sum of compensation. We refused to allow them to take advantage of our client's good nature and we persuaded the police to drop the case.

Case study

Our client was a 63-year-old woman. She lived alone and had always owned Staffordshire Bull Terriers. When one of her dogs passed away in 2022, she decided to rescue another from the dog's home. Our client was not informed that the dog she rescued had any behavioural issues at the time.

Our client walked her dog in her local park and always kept him on a lead. During one of her walks, she released that the lead was not attached properly. As she tried to fix this, the dog escaped and attacked another dog. The dog's owner was also bitten on the finger as she tried to separate them. Our client immediately took hold of her dog, apologised to the complainant and asked whether she could help. The complainant stood up, punched our client in the face and threatened her.

Our client was shocked by the incident and the complainant's reaction. She returned home as she feared for her safety. Our client then informed the dog's home of the incident and she was advised to return the dog which was devastating for her. A few days later, she was then contacted by the police and invited for a police interview under caution.

Our client contacted us and asked us to represent her at the police station. During our initial conferences with her, it was clear that the incident had severely impacted her mental health and we encouraged her to seek help from a professional. We then supported our client through her police interview and ensured her that we would do our best to resolve the case as soon as possible and without the matter having to go to court.

Following the police interview, we persuaded the police to consider resolving the matter by way of an out of court disposal. Our client was clearly remorseful and she was willing to pay compensation to the complainant. We suggested that veterinary bills would be sufficient compensation and the police agreed. However, when the police suggested this to the complainant, she refused the offer and stated that she wanted a larger sum of compensation or she would take our client to court. It was clear that the complainant was being unreasonable and we refused to allow her to take advantage of our client's good nature.

Following further discussions with the police regarding the incident and the complainant's inappropriate behaviour, we were able to persuade the police to drop the case. Our client was relieved.