Mum's heartache as dog destroyed in police swoop
30 March 2014 05:31 PM By John Siddle
Merseyside police crackdown, but Wirral mum says their dog was no danger
Jadey the dog has been put down
A mum broke down in tears as police seized and put down her beloved dog in a Merseyside-wide crackdown on banned breeds.
Alison Harper’s pit bull Jadey was one of 22 prohibited-breed dogs destroyed on Thursday in an operation against owners who had failed to comply with the terms of court orders exempting them from the law.
She told how she begged with officers not to take away her family’s pet after she unwittingly failed to renew mandatory £25-a-year third party insurance.
Police said that all owners stripped of their dogs in the operation had been sent warning letters advising them that they were in breach of the court orders before the warrants were executed this week.
Ms Harper, who works for Wirral council, claimed to have not seen any correspondence.
She said she instantly renewed her insurance policy after police took away Jadey – but that it was too late.
Ms Harper said: “I didn’t know there was no insurance in place – it was a misunderstanding.
“I instructed a solicitor to email the police’s dog section after Jadey was taken away so we could sort this out, but it was too late. She had already been put down.
“I’ve broken the condition, I accept that, but I didn’t do it knowingly.
“I know these laws are put in place for a reason but Jadey has been destroyed through no fault of her own.”
Officers, acting on growing concern from Merseyside communities, swooped on 40 homes linked to outlawed breeds.
They said irresponsible owners had failed to abide by stringent court conditions, such as having insurance, being neutered and being muzzled in public.
Police said the banned dogs – the pit bull terrier, Japanese tosa, dogo Argentino and the fila Braziliero – were “status dogs” linked to organised crime and often roamed homes where children also lived.
Mrs Harper, who lives in Prenton, Wirral, with her son Jamie, 19, took Jadey in as a puppy when its previous owner was diagnosed with MS. It was later identified as being a banned breed but given grace by the courts.
She said: “I am the first to say the laws should be enforced for dangerous dogs but any dog can be dangerous if it has not been trained properly.
“Jadey was such a soft, free-natured dog and good around the grandchildren. We have three other dogs which are smaller and she was brilliant around them.
“I am not saying all the other dogs are family dogs, but Jadey really was. She wasn’t a status symbol to us.
“She was a family dog and much-loved. The devastation that has been left is horrendous.
“When the police were asking me my name, occupation and date of birth I couldn’t speak because I was so upset that they had taken her away. I had to write it down on a piece of paper, I was so distraught.
“All I want now is her body back from Merseyside Police so I can have her cremated.”
Three people have been killed in dog attacks on Merseyside since 2007, two of them by banned breeds.
In November 2009, four-year-old Jon Paul Massey was mauled to death in his gran’s Wavertree home by his uncle’s pit bull, and in 2007, Ellie Lawrenson, five, died after being savaged.
Merseyside is the first force in the country to launch an operation of this type against owners found to have breached the exemption orders.
The ECHO understands that Ms Harper’s insurance lapsed in March 2013 and was not renewed.
Matrix unit chief inspector Chris Gibson said: “These dogs pose a danger to the public, as well as to the families where they are housed.
“I’m sure there aren’t many who would be happy to let their children, or grandchildren play out in the street, if one of these dogs was in the vicinity. These dogs are not designed to be family pets.”
http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/news...h-pit-bull-6895605#.Uzh6Ck4hd24.facebookPoor owner poor dog, killed because of how she looked.
Sad world we live in
