Animal charity fights plans for dog to be destroyed after eating its owner

Freshfields Animal Rescue Centre in Ince Blundell says Staffordshire bull terrier should not be put down as Merseyside Police presses for the dog's destruction

An example picture of a Staffordshire Bull Terrier, the breed of which is involved in the Waterloo 'eating owner destruction' case

An animal charity based in Ince Blundell is fighting plans for a dog to be destroyed - after it began to eat its dead owner.

Freshfields Animal Rescue Centre, at East Lodge Farm on East Lane, has teamed up with The Senior Staff Club, based in Worcester, to argue that the nine-year-old Staffordshire bull terrier should be allowed to stay alive.

Merseyside Police, which seized the animal after the tragedy, along with the deceased man’s family, want to see the dog put down.

The dispute began after the owner was found dead at his home in Waterloo, with injuries to his body, together with the starving animal.

The dog is named as both Buster and Butch in court papers.

An inquest into the man’s death, in September, was unable to determine if it was connected to any attack from the Staffy, which was seized by police.

Now, the owner’s family want the bull terrier destroyed, believing it to pose a danger to the public, a view supported by Merseyside Police.

A court hearing will take place in January, applied for by the Chief Constable, to get permission to put the dog down.

But that move is opposed by animal charities, Freshfields Animal Rescue Centre and The Senior Staff Club.

A Liverpool law firm, representing those groups, is set to argue that for a starving dog, left without food or water for a prolonged period, eating a deceased person was not uncommon.

James Parry, a leading solicitor from Parry Welch Lacey LLP, based in Huyton, described the case as ‘sensitive.’

He said: “There are a number of documented cases of dogs, effectively starving, who’ve gone on to eat a deceased person.

“The issue is whether or not the dog is dangerous. But this set of circumstances is not uncommon.”

Buster’s most recent owner took in the dog after it attacked and killed a Chihuahua in a vicious attack.

Merseyside Police will argue the animal also displayed violent behaviour when its dog handling team was examining it, and later when mixing with other dogs at the force kennels.

Officers will insist the bull terrier poses a risk to the public.

A spokesman for Merseyside Police said: “We can confirm that it has applied, with the full support of the dog owner’s family, to the courts to have the dog humanely destroyed.

“Since being lawfully seized from the owner’s house in Waterloo following his sudden death in September, the dog has displayed highly aggressive behaviour.

“This has included: aggression towards officers attending the address, aggression towards other dogs in police-approved kennels and attempting to bite the dog officer who conducted the assessment.

“During police enquiries into the owner’s death officers were told by members of his family that the dog had previously attacked and killed another dog owned by someone known to the family.

“The pathologist who conducted the post-mortem on the owner determined that the cause of death could not be ascertained.

“In light of the circumstances surrounding the victim’s death, the aggressive behaviour of the dog since being found with the victim’s body, the family’s own strong views and the force’s duty of care to protect the wider public, we will be taking the matter to court to have the full facts heard by a district judge.”