Endangered Dogs Defence and Rescue-DDA

Information, Education & Advice - helping dogs in need

Following the tragic events on New Years Day in Liverpool, intense national media coverage ensued with calls for ‘devil dogs’ to be killed, more dogs to be ‘banned’ and tighter restrictions all round. The onslaught of negative publicity was relentless. One only had to open a newspaper or switch on the radio to hear daily demands for tough action to be taken against specific types of dogs, with little mention of targeting the actual owner, just as it was back in 1991 when mass hysteria led to the introduction of the infamous Dangerous Dogs Act.

We currently have a law rushed through Parliament over 15 years ago, a law which would supposedly rid the country of dangerous dogs and protect the public. Yet, here we are with more dogs than ever owned by people not fit to own any type of animal, serious attacks occurring and some urban areas suffering real problems with dangerous people abusing dogs for their own illegal purposes and giving a bad name to us all.

Alongside this sorry state, we have increasing numbers of unwanted dogs ending up in dog pounds and dog rescues constantly struggling to cope, yet we have a breed specific Act which is about as much use as chocolate teapot!

No one wants to tackle the real issues of indiscriminate breeding, irresponsible owners and a genuine lack of education so it’s left down to a relatively small number of caring dog owners, up to their necks in it on the front line, to stop the damn from bursting with their thumbs firmly wedged in place waiting for some kind of cavalry to arrive.

Following a serious dog attack the authorities come under enormous pressure to be seen to be doing something and taking immediate action. The Merseyside Police leaders have responded and seized dogs in the area they believed were illegal ‘pit bulls’ kept for fighting purposes. If that is the genuine truth you would expect no less, but people should remember not to condemn the dog as he didn’t ask to be abused, did he? They then proposed a ‘dog amnesty’ as the solution to rid the streets of dangerous dogs, the exact details of which are still unknown but the idea itself sent shock waves into the general dog owning community.

Word gets out that some veterinary clinics have actually ‘signed up’ to be the agents of destruction of family pets handed over during the ‘amnesty’ now renamed ‘hand-over’. No moral dilemma for them then, despite their sworn oath to protect the animals in their care. It seems that draining the life from someone’s family pet against the owners wishes, is acceptable if it is a ‘type’?

Meanwhile there is no escape as the daily negative media blitz continues to spoon feed us horrific ‘devil dog’ stories and panic begins to spread amongst pet owners, some of the inexperienced dog owners begin to look at their own dogs differently, coming under pressure from non dog owning family members who mean well but have been ill-informed by what they’ve read. ‘Give a dog a bad name and hang him’ rings true as man’s best friend is abandoned.

Rescues are flooded with unwanted bull breed and cross breed dogs, the potential homes offered dwindle to almost nothing and the wheels begin to grind to a halt. Nothing is moving, it’s desperate. Some dogs manage to find rescue places hundreds of miles out the area and are moved to safety but the spaces dry up as the waiting lists lengthen, the vets begin to ‘put to sleep’ and the death toll starts to rise.

Deed Not Breed (DNB), a voluntary group consisting of dog owners, canine rescues and animal welfare organisations was formed. The DNB group is opposed to breed specific legislation. Believing the importance of public safety to be paramount; DNB felt it was time to look to the other end of the leash as current breed bans were simply not working.
The enquiries soon came in as owners clamber for information, what should they do, does their dog have to die, is their family pet a ‘type’, what is a ‘type’, who the hell ever heard of this law which has been lying almost dormant for the past ten years? The angry giant is now awake and in full swing.

Reports of family dogs being taken in the area and beyond begin to filter through, ‘experts’ start to pop up able to point the finger at a dog and declare ‘type’, despite the fact that it often takes days for renowned breed identification & behavioural experts to argue what is and is not a ‘type’ in a court of law. Officials and even some of our trusted vets reach for the tape measure, ‘his legs are too long, you will have to go to Court or sign him over’ rings out loud as the full weight of a ridiculous law unleashes itself.

With several known incidents of pet dogs being seized and held or already killed, it was soon realised that more facts were desperately needed by the general dog owning public. Deed Not Breed organised a meeting in Liverpool on Saturday 27th January and volunteers set up an information point with permission for a two- hour slot with newly printed leaflets and literature to help innocent dogs and their owners.

Volunteers gathered at midday and spent three demanding hours helping those who had been themselves directly affected or knew someone who had. A group of volunteers stood out there on the street to defend innocent dogs and the people began to come forward.

One man was in tears as he asked for help, his dog had been taken and he didn’t know where she was; a mum with swollen red eyes from days of crying stepped forward, her dog was gone too; someone else had been walking a puppy when it had been taken and was dead the next day; another person was confused as a dog up the road had been taken from its home, now they were reluctant to take theirs out in case it was also rounded up. They are left to hide and walk the streets in the dark.

Others looked on and then joined in showing photos of their dogs which had gone too, one a mother and three pups; another two taken as ‘type’ one given back, one held somewhere; one woman had been to the police station trying to get her dog's food and blanket to him as he had never been away from home before. The owners had been on their own, isolated and with nowhere to turn, having not even been informed of whether their dogs were still alive. They now clutched hold of the information sheets - it was all the hope they had.

Deed Not Breed was caught unexpected as people kept arriving with their sad stories eager to tell anyone who would listen. Ordinary folk signed the petition, they know the score - it’s the bad owners not the dogs - it was signed 511 times in less than three hours, over 250 information packages were taken away. The local Police looked on and were very helpful too.
Later that day, as the new DNB helpline numbers began to circulate, the calls began to flood in; ordinary people living under a constant state of alarm and worry, dogs unable to go out, visit their vets or even attend training classes, no one knows what is to happen next.

Those with puppies, accidental matings mostly, are unable to rehome. There are litters of puppies unwanted, they have no future at only a few weeks of age, they didn’t ask to be born but are here all the same. The owner of one litter summed it up; “there are no homes, everyone had dropped out” she said. None will risk going to the vets for their first vaccination or health checks in case someone points the finger, what is to be their fate? More puppies killed as ‘dangerous dogs’, will anyone defend a puppy-are they a product of their upbringing and environment or at just six weeks of age do they deserve to die as they may grow into the wrong shape, because right now they are all out there and in a hopelessly desperate situation.

Another dog, a 5month-old puppy, had been treated for a injured leg having slipped running on a wooden floor, when the owner went in for a check up the vet said the dog might be of the ‘type’ and have to be taken away, now the owner is yet another person too frightened to venture out of the home. “Returning to have her stitches removed will be signing her death warrant” he said and he’s not alone. On top of everything, we now have a potential welfare crisis developing.

The next time there is a serious dog attack the ‘powers that be’ may well look to Merseyside for inspiration, you could find the idea of a ‘dog amnesty’ comes to your area, where family pets from homes are expected to be handed in for ‘destruction’ because they are the wrong shape and deemed to be disposable.

Meanwhile Deed Not Breed and other dedicated groups are out there and a light in the tunnel for many innocent dogs that have done no wrong and yet suffer for our inability to target the other end of the leash.

We shouldn't endorse breed bans, look away or just bury our heads in the sand.
Take a good look around any inner city area and wake up, we’ve got big problems on the horizon and this Dangerous Dogs Act is not of any use when it comes to tackling those problems.

Those of us who live and work with dogs have seen it coming for years and we are tired of specific dogs being used as a scapegoat because our politicians will not get tough on people and address the real issues.

'It’s a people problem not a dog problem'

and until we can grasp that basic simple fact (it’s not rocket science, is it?)