Is this a fair decision?.

[margaret*e]

Some of the comments underneath the article disagree.

http://www.parentdish.co.uk/2014/02/07/dog-owner-found-not-guilty-after-his-pet-mauled-toddler/

[saasher2012]

Morning Marge, once again another child has been hurt! As to the fairness of the decision , I feel that the fault lies with both sides, the Landlord for not securing his private area , & the parents for allowing the child to wander about without supervision. The dog was only doing his duty, but for the child the outcome could have been fatal.

[millielilac]

It is very lucky that the child was not hurt more than they were........

It was very unfortunate but the biggest fault lies with the parents of the child ......a 3 year old should NOT be wandering around unsupervised in a pub ...absolutely anything could have happened and although the dog bite was bad events could have been much worse.

The dog could have inflicted severe ( even fatal ) injuries on the child of it was in full attack mode and although no one can say for certain what really happened it would appear that this was not a full on attack by a vicious dog.

I am a dog owner and although I am confident that my dog would not attack a child ( even strangers are welcomed into the house by her ) I know that she could cause accidental damage to a small and vulnerable child as she is boisterous , big and has sharp claws that could easily inflict when she gets excited and jumps around .

Children and dogs can be a toxic mix .....in this instance the child was very lucky ....but if the dog has no previous history of aggression and has not displayed any such behaviour since ( and no one knows what the child did to the dog ) then it must be viewed as a very unfortunate incidence .

[saasher2012]

Good points! I also have dogs In the main working dogs I can say if I am with them I know how they would react! I would never leave a child alone with a dog in any circumstance. The dogs that live outside cannot be reached without my knowledge. Even a small dog can really hurt a small child with a leave me alone nip. Why oh why cannot people understand the first line of defence for a dog is to bite. Children are the innocent victims of this inability to understand dogs usually give a warning unless surprised .

[electric*mayhem*band]

Yes, I think it was fair. I have been in cafės and restaurants where sprogs have been left to run wild, while their parents have been fiddling around on mobile phones. Were they to run into a waitress/waiter carrying hot food and drinks and were then scalded, whose fault would it be ?

I suppose the waitress/waiter's fault, for not looking where they were going.

[suzieseaside]

Yes, I think it's the right decision.  I blame the parents 100% for not minding their child. They can't have been attentive if the child managed to get into a private part of the pub and jump on a sleeping dog.

[023mjc]

The parents are to blame. The child should not have been wandering around on his own, into private rooms or anywhere else. The dog had a right to be there, the little boy did not. The dog was asleep and the child jumped on him to play. I may have lashed out too in those circumstances.

I don't think kids should be allowed in pubs any way. With all the fuss being kicked up about smoking around children ( which I agree with totally ), but it's OK to expose them to alcohol / drinking / drunks. Besides that, there is nothing worse than going for a quiet drink or a nice meal, and having screeching kids running around. Once, a little girl came over to our table and snatched food off my plate. The parents thought it hilarious.

That said, I wish the little one well. He's not old enough to know better so it wasn't his fault either.

[dr-whos-assistant]

I think its the right decision the dog snapped it didn't attack there is a differnce, I would be very careful with the dog in the future though especialy around children.