Britain desperately needs to tackle its dog control problems - The Guardian

Merseyside police seized this pitbull terrier, trained for fighting, after an attack on a five-year-old child. Photograph: Merseyside Police/PA

Dangerous dogs are increasingly linked to worrying and persistent trends in antisocial behaviour, and so it's no surprise that so many of us up and down the country are concerned about the problem. Battersea Dogs & Cats Home, together with the RSPCA and Blue Cross have called for an urgent and overdue review of the existing failing dog legislation. Maybe, just maybe, with the recent appointment of Lord Taylor of Holbeach as the new government minister there could be a glimmer of hope that we will see some effective action.

Lord Taylor has promised to make any future legislation effective and enforceable in tackling the dangerous dogs issues that are so concerning us all. But as the problems around irresponsible dog ownership, stray and dangerous dogs intensify, and budgets get tight or, in the case of some local authorities disappear altogether, it may not be long before there is another serious dog attack on a member of the public, or even a young child.

This is not scaremongering. It is a sad but inescapable fact that a minority of people still continue to treat dogs irresponsibly, use them for the wrong things and care only about their personal status in their community or peer group. Battersea is on the frontline dealing with the repercussions of dog issues, as on average 17 stray, abandoned, abused, or dangerous dogs come through our doors every day.

We are the first to pick up the pieces for these dogs, but the pressures on us, as well as the police and local authorities, are mounting. For more than 150 years we have stood by our founding mission to aim never to turn away a dog or cat in need of our help. But as the stray and dangerous dog problem gets worse, our work becomes harder and harder.

What many people may not realise is Battersea takes in every type of dog, and not just those that are easy to rehome. So inevitably more and more of the dogs coming into the charity's rehoming centres have been so badly abused, or trained to be a dangerous "weapon" that it's too late to help them. Some of these dogs can't possibly be safely rehomed, and sadly we have to put them to sleep. At least most people recognise that the harsh reality is this is the only responsible option.

This is predominantly an urban problem and, like us, many of our local authority partners are struggling to cope with the growing stray and dangerous dogs problem. They are legally bound to accept stray dogs off the street when a dog is first spotted or brought to them but severe budget cuts mean they are having to put to sleep perfectly friendly and healthy stray dogs, before they ever reach rescue centres such as Battersea. And more and more strays remain on the street, presenting a potential risk to the public. Battersea is working with local authorities to help find solutions. We're encouraging them to share their kennelling costs with neighbouring local boroughs, but there is only so much we can do.

It would be simplistic to say these problems will go away if only the government would put its hand in its pocket and support inner city local authorities. But Lord Taylor must now take the lead and develop a national strategy to tackle dog control problems. If stray dog services were given a higher priority, we wouldn't have as many of the dog problems we see on our streets today.

New legislation is a must. You'd be hard pressed to find anybody who would disagree on that. And so animal charities such as Battersea will continue to argue that the existing dog laws need to be urgently updated and consolidated into a single effective piece of legislation to improve public safety and protect animal welfare so there are fewer dangerous dogs that have to be put to sleep.

We cannot afford to have a repeat of the kneejerk policymaking on dog control that happened 20 years ago, and Lord Taylor himself knows the government must get it right this time. We must deal with these problems now before we face another tragedy.

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NHS reforms: 'They didn't pause and they didn't listen' - The Guardian

NHS reforms proposed by the coalition have provoked thousands and comments and advice from Guardian readers on the blog. Photograph: Dominic Lipinski/PA

Readers of the Guardian's NHS live blog have shared feedback on the government's plans for NHS reform and its listening exercise over the last three months. Since April they have discussed the impact of the reforms on social care, cancer patients, mental health services, GPs, nurses, abortion, medical training and more, offering their take on what "pausing" the bill would mean for the government and the political parties.

Concern about the effect of GP commissioning, perhaps the most popular topic of discussion on the blog, has ranged from debates on whether consortiums would create a conflict of interest for GPs faced with managing costs and patient care, to how GPs' relationships with secondary and tertiary services would be affected.

Support for consortiums involving nurses, hospital staff and patients has been present, with some readers arguing that the principles of GP commissioning are sound, given doctors' greater knowledge of the patients in their care. Uncertainty over how such consortiums would work in practice and slot into the existing network raised greater anxiety, however.

Thousands of comments have been left by readers, giving the overwhelming impression that they feel they have not been listened to in this process. Regular badger33 explained how primary care trusts (PCTs) struggled properly to consult frontline staff, while benmandel expressed widely held concerns that the role of the patient and relatives has been marginalised in the proposals.

Many commenters, including Leibowitz and onepairofhands, shared frustration about how the official listening exercise had been run, arguing that the reforms were insufficiently debated during the election and would be implemented from the top down.

Despite the "pause", many of our readers have shared accounts of changes already taking place, as reader cmoser explained. The pace of the change was a concern for many, including Watty145 and cfarrar, who wrote: "I have been through 12 structural reforms in the 30 years that I have worked for the NHS and all they do is distract from the real work of the NHS to deliver and improve health and health services." Or as PleaseSeeSense put it: "They didn't pause and they didn't listen."

NHS worker ces1 spoke for many on proposals to increase private provision: "My biggest concern is that the private sector just won't provide what the NHS does – and that no one has costed for everything the NHS provides currently."

Combined with cuts in funding to many specialist services, readers expressed fears that healthcare for those who need it most could be threatened. There was strong opposition to creating a tiered system for accessing healthcare – a prospect seen by many as an inevitable outcome.

Hundreds of readers have used the blog to share experiences as NHS patients and workers. Many have suggested where efficiencies could be brought in and changes made. Taken as a whole, it has been a valuable "listening exercise" for any government.

Steve Field GP, 51, is the man charged with leading the government's listening exercise as chair of the NHS Future Forum. The head of the Royal College of GPs from 2007-10, he was the first senior doctor to support Andrew Lansley's NHS reform white paper in 2010.

While head of the most controversial review dominating the political world, the Department of Health says that he continues to practise as a GP at Bellevue medical centre in Birmingham, where he is married with two children.

In one of his listening exercises he revealed that his wife was suffering from cancer and requires expensive drugs for her treatment.

Born in the West Midlands, he lists his hobbies as tennis, family and walking his flat coat retriever dog, Hattie.

Field practised in Droitwich Spa in the 1980s and gained an international reputation in healthcare education as medical dean for the NHS in the West Midlands.

He received a CBE for his services to medicine in the Queen's 2010 New Year honours list.

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Christine's canine chums help her out - Knutsford Guardian

12:40pm Wednesday 26th January 2011

A WOMAN who has struggled with her mobility since having a hip replacement operation has all the help she needs thanks to her dogs.

Christine Stubbings has two loyal companions in Rocky and Kaos, her German Shepherds, who are father and son.

The Allostock resident, who runs the Knutsford Dog Training Club, had a hip replacement operation more than a year ago when her nerves were damaged, causing her foot to drop.

Christine still wears a splint and uses a stick to help her to balance when she walks.

But Rocky, 10, and Kaos, six, have made her life a lot easier by bringing Christine everything she needs from garden tools to the TV remote.

Christine, of Princess Avenue, said: “To be in this condition is really quite exasperating when I have been so active all my life.

“However, my dogs have not just helped me physically but mentally as well as they just accept every day as it comes and often give me plenty of occasion to laugh. They do all sorts of things.”

To contact Knutsford Dog Training Club, call 01565 722927.

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