Rise in dog attacks across West Midlands

Gemma May Hotchkiss's dog Darcy was mauled to death outside her home in 2019

The number of dog attacks recorded in the West Midlands has risen by 66%, a BBC investigation has uncovered.

In 2018 there were 671 cases, rising to more than 1,000 in 2022, with almost 4,000 dogs being seized over the same period of time.

Across England and Wales, there were nearly 22,000 cases of out-of-control dogs causing injury last year.

Gemma May Hotchkiss, from Kings Heath in Birmingham, whose dog was fatally attacked outside her home in 2019 said she wanted more protection for pets.

She said existing legislation currently only offered protection to animals like livestock or guide dogs - injury of which could lead to a large fine and potential imprisonment.

"But there's nothing for your personal dogs, there's no protection there," she said.

Her toy poodle Darcy was mauled to death by a Staffordshire Bull Terrier outside her former home in Wednesbury as her mother took him out for a walk.

'Covered in blood'

"She was literally out the front door when a neighbour's dog, which wasn't on a lead, just came up and attacked my dog out of the blue and just killed him there and then," Ms Hotchkiss, said.

"The owners weren't at the house. They didn't know the dog was outside and the dog had to be fought off by some people who were just passing by."

She added the incident happened "really quickly" and left her mother badly bruised.

She said her boss drove her home from work after she received a "scary call" from her mother.

"When I arrived there were police cars outside the house, the doors were open, and [when] I went in, my mum was just sat there with my dog covered in blood," she said.

"It was just horrible."

She described Darcy as the "perfect dog" who loved being around people.

"I have multiple sclerosis and whenever I was ill, he was very knowing. He knew when I was ill and really be there for me," she said.

"He saw me through some really dark times... so what happened was horrific with very little consequences as well."

Darcy died in 2019

Ms Hotchkiss said police took the neighbour's dog away for an assessment and concluded that he was not dangerous to humans.

Officers told her the dog would need to go through a specialist course and if he did not pass, he would be put down.

"Then we were told they did not have the capacity to keep the dog until the course was running again, so the dog was going to be given back to his owners," she said.

"But were told that it's ok though as they have to take out third party insurance liability on the dog - and I looked that up and you can get that for about £15 a year."

As far as she knows the dog did not complete the course and she moved away from the area.

The BBC's Freedom of Information figures - based on 37 responses to requests made to all 43 police forces - suggest reported dog attacks may have grown at about twice the rate of the number of new pet dogs.

An annual survey by the vet charity PDSA stated there had been a nearly 15% increase in dog numbers UK-wide - rising from 8.9 million in 2018, to 10.2 million in 2022.