'Alleged' Dog Attack. Where do I stand?

[coraline]

I have a large dog, the best way to describe him is he’s a mastiff type breed. He’s generally good natured and fun but he is also an enthusiastic guard dog so, he tends to bark a lot.

The situation:

We are walking down the road, on the path with the road on our left. The dog is on a lead and on my left hand side. There is a car parked half on the pavement so only a small gap is left for us to pass down (there is hedge on the right).

As we are making our way through, a lady approaches towards us. Initially she moves to our left to let us past but then before we are passed she starts to move to get past us. She gets right up close to the dog and dangles her top in his face. He turns and grabs a mouthful of her top and tugs. I shout ‘Stop!’ and he instantly lets go.

She gets quite irate and actually says to me ‘that nearly went through my top, he could have bitten me.’ so, I know he didn’t bite her.

I make my apologies and then, get out of there because, the shouting is starting to wind the dog up and he starts barking at her.

Wind forward six months and I’m woken by the police at 4 am who’ve come round to seize my dog. They give me absolutely no info, only that he's supposed to have bitten someone last year and then just take the dog and go.

That was three weeks ago, I phoned the police myself and asked what was going on and I was told that I would be brought in for an interview and I should wait to be called.

I intend to fight this because I don’t believe my dog has done anything wrong. He did not bite her, nor was he ever out of my control.

The first question I have is; am I right in thinking that no offense has been committed? He did munch on her top and I imagine that it was quite scary for her but she was no injured.

Second; should I speak to the police and plead my case? There are no witnesses so, it is my word against hers and there isn't any other evidence that he bit her either. Would speaking to the police potentially prejudice my position?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thank you

[islandgirl]

Apparently the fear of injury is enough. You need a solicitor. There are many specialists - a quick google found this https://doglaw.co.uk/

[Manxman]

... We are walking down the road, on the path with the road on our left. The dog is on a lead and on my left hand side. There is a car parked half on the pavement so only a small gap is left for us to pass down (there is hedge on the right).

As we are making our way through, a lady approaches towards us. Initially she moves to our left to let us past but then before we are passed she starts to move to get past us....

Just a couple of observations -

When out on the pavement I would suggest that you ensure that your dog is always between you and the wall or hedge so that you - and not your dog - pass next to other pedestrians.

If the pavement is partially obstructed give priority to oncoming pedestrians and keep your dog well out of their way as they come through.

Doing both of these things will minimise the risk of future unwanted interactions between your dog and other people.

(And if the dog had been fully under your control it wouldn't have bitten her top - or whatever happened)