Cops seized woman’s harmless Staffordshire bull terrier in park because it looked like a banned breed
A devastated pet owner has called for dangerous dog laws to be changed as her beloved Staffordshire bull terrier must now be muzzled
A DOG owner was left devastated when police officers seized her harmless canine because it looked like a "pit-bull type".
Rebecca Hughes, 30, was stunned when cops took away her blue Staffordshire bull terrier Chesney on November 12.
She was walking her pet in Herrington Country Park in Sunderland when a passing officer suspected he was a banned breed.
Dangerous dog laws means such animals can be confiscated even if they are not displaying signs of aggressive behaviour.
An agonising 72 hours passed before her beloved mutt was returned as thousands shared a huge social media appeal.
“The law says that if they suspect the dog is a dangerous breed they have to seize it there and then," said Rebecca.
“It wasn’t the police officers’ fault - they were just following this terrible legislation.
“The police have been amazing and are just following this stupid law which needs to be changed.”
RSPCA dog welfare expert Dr Samantha Gaines said: “As the assessment is predominantly appearance based, the welfare of many dogs is unnecessarily affected; some will be returned with lifelong restrictions on their behaviour but others will be euthanised.”
Unfortunately for dog owners, it can be difficult to detect whether or not the dog they are buying is pit bull-type.
Rebecca said: “We got Chesney’s mother six years ago from a breeder in Birmingham – we had done lots of research to find a good breeder.
“We bred her with another blue Staffy and only one puppy survived which was Chesney – that’s why he’s named after Chesney Hawkes’ ‘The One and Only’.
“There must have been a pit bull bred into the family somewhere along the line but we didn’t know about it.”
Rebecca continued: “I had no idea it existed until I got caught up in it.
“Chesney has been deemed to be pit bull-type which means that now he can’t be walked without a lead and must be muzzled.
“It also means if we decided that we could no longer look after him he couldn’t be re-homed and would have to be put down.
“I agree that there needs to be some sort of control of dangerous dogs but so many like Chesney have never hurt anybody.”
Rebecca will still have to appear at court where Chesney’s categorisation will be made official.
“The most frustrating thing about this is that he is the safest dog - the most violent thing about him is his licking."
Rebecca Hughes
Sgt Martyn Scott of Northumbria Police said: “Where we are informed of, or become aware that a dog is identified as being dangerous, as defined under the dangerous dog act police must act and we take the matter very seriously.
“We risk assess each individual case as each case is different to determine what the risk to the public is.
“It is then up to the court to decide what the outcome should be, whether the dog will be put on the exemption register or if it needs to be put to sleep.
“Our prime concern is public safety and protecting members of the public to ensure they are not at risk of being harmed by a dog.”
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