Cops and DoA focus on dangerous dogs
Neighbourhood Officer Eugene Myles assists veteran Animal Control Officer Anthony Martin with the capture of a stray dog in West Bay
(CNS): After three feral dogs chased and bit a cyclist on Friday, the RCIPS and the Department of Agriculture have joined forces to round up ferocious, stray or out-of-control dogs. The cyclist, who was riding along Finch Drive in West Bay, was bitten on his ankle as he tried to fend the dogs off. Neighbourhood police and animal control officers went to the location at the weekend and captured the three strays, but with mounting reports of wild dogs, the RCIPS said operations targeting these animals would continue.
“Ferocious dog reports like these, as well as related reports concerning stray dogs, have continued apace into the new year across the Cayman Islands. RCIPS officers and DoA will be cooperating closely this year to run joint operations and remove the threat that ferocious dogs can pose, especially to children.” the police said.
Just before Christmas an 8-year-old girl was badly bitten by a ferocious dog while playing outside in a yard in Prospect, sustaining a serious injury to her ear.
Being attacked by vicious dogs is a long-held concern for many people who exercise in the early morning or late evening and for those walking their own dogs, as it can be a frightening experience.
The police said they responded to 142 reports of ferocious dogs last year. There were also 39 reports of dogs dangerously out of control and 32 reports about stray dogs. Just two weeks into the New Year, there have already been eight reports about ferocious dogs, two reports of dogs dangerously out of control and three reports of stray dogs.
Brian Crichlow, Assistant Director of the Department of Agriculture, said the joint operations with the RCIPS were a critical step, along with the continued outreach and education of dog owners to tackle the problem. “Dog bites and attacks are a very real public safety concern and we need the support and cooperation of the public and all of our partners to address it,” he said.
Inspector Lloyd Marriott, Area Commander of West Bay, agreed, saying the dogs caused real fear on the street. “Ferocious dogs, whether they be strays or not, are a regular complaint of residents,” he said, noting that they could deal with the problem more effectively if they were provided with good descriptions and the location of animals posing a threat.
in yahoo news yesterday….another 8 yr old mauled to death by a pit bull in usa???? these animals are dangerous man!
Any dog can bite/attack. Unfortunately Pits have, for years, been placed in the dangerous category just because of their looks and ‘rough’ but not ‘cute’ appearances. They are nanny dogs, research Pitbull origins for some education.
Poor dogs, it’s some of the owners we should capture, because it starts with them and how they have cared or rather not cared for dogs of all breeds.
Not true. They were trained to bait bulls, and to do that they bite and hang on. They are different from other breeds which bite and release. This is why pit bulls are dangerous. Not all of them, but when they bite the result is much worse than other dog breeds.
Anonymous
Its a Jamaican thing to abuse their dogs so they nonstop bark to get back at a neighbor they dont like.
Am I the only one annoyed at the two black dogs that roam from Tortuga to eastern ave gas station? This morning the eedyats tried to stop my car in the middle of the road by blocking the road and aggressive barking at my tire. They dying to get hit!
They tried to stop your car in the middle of the road? Maybe they were trying to trick you to get out of your vehicle while another one jumped in and stole it!
Build a wall
And make the dogs pay for it!
No accountability for people who own dogs and let them run loose. The fact that there is no required/enforced licensing of dogs (that should include microchipping), means that people continue to abuse, neglect and let dogs roam.
Let’s fix the problem at its source.
Dog licensing laws actually exist, but what is needed is active enforcement of them. This is a typical of the usual situation where politicians keep creating more and more laws, when many older ones are not being enforced.
Recommend also enforcing the leash law on our beaches. I have been circled, lunged at, growled at from unleashed dogs who are too close for comfort while walking/running Seven Mile Beach AND the owners are right there!
That’s a real bad looking dog in the photo lol.
A throat-ripping killer of men
I’m shaking in my boots
But it will be killed anyway.
?
Please visit Spotts Newlands,Raven Avenue we have a few PIT BULLS AND OTHER STRAY DOGS WALKING FREELY THAT POSES A THREAT TO KIDS IN THE AREA!!!
Dogs should be either tied up or in a control area=fence in! in the Brac people knew better to let there dogs tear up your garbage or bite someone! the owners would have to use their noise to find him lol! WP Bracka
Brackas know best!
Maybe round up stray doges BEFORE they bite someone…. just a radical ideal….
Dogs should have a visible tag.
No tag ? Goodbye dog.
No need for a tag if they are chipped.
Hey! We could chip cars and do away with number plates.
Tags not chips. Let’s start at square 1
Long overdue! Much like consistent traffic law (and other laws) enforcement.
There is no law here. Today at 11:00am a car was parked badly outside the government building on Elgin avenue. It’s windows were TOTALLY black. The security guard tried to peer in to ask them to move but they refused to lower the window to speak to him. I thought of taking the number and reporting it to the cops but what’s the point? They do NOTHING. That’s why someone can feel confident parking in front of the government building with completely illegal tint for Christ’s sake. If you report the owner of an unchained roaming dog shitting up your yard and threatening pedestrians walking on the road, you get abused by the owner of the dog as if it is you that is the problem. This happened to me with my neighbor, a born East Ender with the brains of an agouti.
dogs … how about the idiot people running around with guns
To the average person who doesn’t hang out with gangs, or visit specific bars, dogs are WAY more of a daily threat. I am always worried when I go out cycling that I will be chased by ferocious dogs, as it has happened many times.
I am very happy that something is being done about this – but I would like to know what happens to the dogs who are caught. I’m not being a “bleeding heart”, I just want to confirm that they will not end up back with owners who allow them to stray again!
They will all be killed because that’s what DOA does to any dog they think is a pitbull by looks.
carry a squirt gun full of bleach.
We need a licensing law and Dog Catchers!! Again, this is a small finite rock so while the iguanas multiply out of control, domestic dogs do not have to???
This is a common law in civilized 1st world countries: People pay $10 for a 2 yr license and $100 per dog that is not fixed. This allows breeders to be responsible, and the hefty fines would aid the control.
We should not have such a strain on our Humane Society and such a violent stray dog problem.
The statistics stated are alarming considering our population size.
Come on government, if you cannot even control a dog population how can we feel safe that 600 police can control crime or that Immigration can control overstayers?
This is not a NEW problem and even the Governor was attacked on our tourist popular Seven Mile Beach. This is truly a black mark on an uncaring and ineffective civil service. WHERE are the dog catchers? Perhaps re-purpose and re-train police, fire, customs, border, marine? Put a bounty?
Start with tagging domestics and making the public accountable (heft fines!!) for our own household pets to weed out the strays vs house-pets. With enforced neutering this problem should/could be eradicated within a year!
too many pit bulls and other british bad dogs on this island!!!? everyone is at risk of attack and possibly worse….sad!??
british bad dogs? What are those? How do you define which dog is a a pit bull?
How do you know he is a british dog maybe he studied in the uk for a bit picked up a accent. Still a caymanian
If dog owners were “responsible” and didn’t let them roam half the problem would be solved. The other half again relates to owners who refuse to have their dogs spayed/neutered and again, allow them to roam. With CARE (animal charity) working desperately to encourage spay and neuter AND not only offering transport to/from vets but financial assistance to those who cannot afford spay and neuter surgeries there really is NO excuse apart from pure and utter laziness causing the problem. Again, it is the owners that are not effected but the animals that ultimately suffer and pay the price.
Good work!!! And please put them down. I know I’ll get a lot of backlash on this, but there seem to be too many of these dogs around and when I meet a small person walking 4 large dogs, I don’t feel safe – they cannot be controlled. Having been bitten once, while the owner assured me that everything was OK, I’m twice shy.
As if the crime wasn’t bad already. We have to worry about being eaten alive by god damn dogs.
I completely agree. I lose sleep every night having nightmares about being ‘eaten alive by god damn dogs’. And bears. And tigers too.
It would be helpful if they were to make public the number to call to report these animals. That way it would be easier for us to help.
DOA and Cops have looked the other way on the breeding of “prohibited breeds” for decades. It’s up to them to show us their chosen careers matter to them, beyond the regular paycheck. Owners of unspayed prohibited breeds should face fines. Vets that see these dogs pregnant and look the other way should have their T&B suspended. Make some examples please.
Absolutely agree. the public should be made aware of the Dangerous Dog law and it doesn’t relate to only stray dogs but rather breeds of dogs that are illegal to breed in Cayman especially pit bulls and other breeds that if aggressive can cause serious injury. Before those trying to defend every dog I am myself an owner of 3 dogs none of which are listed as dangerous breeds. The owners of such dogs should be charged with assault if their dog cause injury to other since they own an illegal dog which is as bad as owning an illegal firearm