Bradford's top dog warden has condemned the owners of a pit bull-type animal which attacked a woman.

Terry Singh said the people who had allowed their dog to escape or deliberately released it were irresponsible' and had placed the public in danger.

The animal has now been put down, seven days after being seized by Bradford Council's dog warden service in Odsal, Bradford.

Mr Singh said the animal had attacked another dog and bitten the owner as it roamed in Rookes Avenue.

"We received a telephone call regarding a dangerous dog running amok," he said.

"It jumped in a garden and attacked another dog. The owner came out to prevent it from attacking her dog and was bitten in the process.

"When we arrived and seized the dog it was apparent the dog was, in our opinion, of the pit bull terrier type."

He said the dog was kept for seven days as a stray, yet no owner came forward to claim it.

The animal was taken to a Bradford veterinary practice where it was put down as being a specific breed named under the Dangerous Dogs Act.

Mr Singh said the case had saddened him, particularly since the Act prevented a new home being found for the dog.

"It makes us angry. We are unfortunately picking up the pieces due to irresponsible dog ownership," he said.

"If people have a dog, it should be for life, not just for convenience. The dog is becoming the victim."

He said it remained unclear why the dog was roaming the streets.

He said: "It's very difficult to know the circumstances, but what we don't want to see is people dumping these sort of dogs which are a potential hazard to the public.

"If anyone has a dangerous dog and is concerned or wants advice then please contact the dog warden service on (01274) 434366."

HOW YOU CAN SIGN OUR PETITION

You can back our Curb the Danger Dogs Campaign by signing our petition, which will be sub-mitted to the Home Secretary, John Reid.

We want to collect as many signatures as possible in the next month to show Mr Reid the strength of feeling in the district about the inadequacies of the Dangerous Dogs Act and to put pres-sure on him to better protect the public against dog attacks by acting on the changes to the law we have outlined on the petition.

You can support our campaign simply by adding your own name on the petition online at our publication's website www.thetelegraphandargus.co.uk. Or you can print out the petition and ask family, friends and colleagues to sign as well. The more signatures we receive, the stronger our message.

But whatever you can do will add weight to our campaign and help to make it clear to Mr Reid the strength of public feeling regarding the desperate need to change the current law.

We will then submit all the forms we receive to the Home Office.

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