Dog attack: Owner badly bitten by rescue dog wants change in law

The Maidments want a change in the law over rescue dogs

A woman whose husband was attacked by their rescue dog has called for a change in the law to force animal charities to disclose if a dog has a history of biting.

Mike Maidment's hand was bitten so badly he needed plastic surgery.

His wife Carol later discovered the dog had been rehomed after biting his previous owner.

The couple, from Worthing in West Sussex, said they would not have taken the dog on, had they known his history.

Mr Maidment, 82, said the dog, a terrier called Barney, attacked him without warning or provocation.

"He stood up, turned round and just went for me," he said.

"I put my hands out to stop him getting to my face and got rather messed up."

He was left with injuries which he said needed "a mass of stitches".

Barney was put down after attacking Mr Maidment

It was only after the attack that they discovered the dog had a violent history with his previous owner, and now the couple say they want better regulation for rehomed animals.

"When a dog has viciously attacked a human being, that has to be information given to anybody that's going to rehome that dog," Mrs Maidment said.

"Had my husband been a two-year-old it could have been fatal.

"There needs to be a law that says they have to give you that information. We wouldn't have taken Barney on if we'd known that."

The Maidments said they were given no warning that Barney had bitten people before

Beverley Cuddy, the editor of Dogs Today magazine, said animal rescue currently lacks legislation.

"It's pretty unregulated" she said. "Maybe there is a need for some sort of licensing or oversight.

"At the moment it can be anything from a registered charity to someone who's just got a laptop and thought 'I'm going to rescue some dogs'."

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