‘Those dogs don’t come on my bus unless you put them on leads,’ the driver tells a man with two free-range Staffordshire bull terriers.

The dogs have already padded inquiringly into the bus, spooking the buggy mums and the older passengers sitting near the front.

The bus driver is adamant, and with a farewell stream of abuse the man eventually leaves the bus and lurches along the main road with his dogs still trotting loose.

It’s small incident, but it’s part of a growing problem. Like all councillors, I have always received complaints about dog fouling, but now more and more people, many of them dog owners, are voicing their fears about what they see as dangerous dogs running loose in streets and parks.

Many local authorities have introduced dog control orders requiring dog owners to keep their dogs on leads in all public places. The London borough of Southwark is monitoring an order covering the whole of the giant Aylesbury estate that was introduced in August following complaints from residents. If the initiative is successful, it will be extended to other estates.

I’ve got into trouble before for writing about dogs, so let me say I’m not anti-dog. In fact, I’m a dog owner between dogs after my rescue greyhound died suddenly. In my experience, most dog owners act responsibly, cleaning up after their companions and keeping them under proper control.

However, a small but significant number care little for the behaviour of their dogs and let them run loose. With the increasing number of aggressive Staffordshire bull terriers around, not to mention the Rottweilers, Dobermans and other large and potentially dangerous breeds, it is little wonder that the number of people needing hospital treatment after dog attacks rose by 36 per cent from 2,802 in 2004 to 3,837 in 2008, according to government figures.

It is a familiar problem for housing officers, although irresponsible dog ownership is classless. You may recollect that even members of the royal family have been in trouble for not properly controlling one’s dog.

The RSPCA says it is treating more and more dogs that have been neglected, abandoned or abused by city youths, who own them simply for the status they bring and sometimes use them as weapons. To make these dogs more vicious some owners beat, kick and even stab them, it says. The charity had received 15,314 complaints about these ‘status dogs’, by October this year.

Abandoned

In Brighton and Hove, about 90 per cent of the 400 abandoned dogs rounded up each year by the city’s animal welfare team are Staffordshire bull terrier-type animals. Many of them are put to sleep after seven days because most rehoming centres will not take them. That’s 360 dogs a year - almost one a day on average - put down.

I don’t want to demonise the Staffordshire breed, although it is worth remembering they were originally bred for bull-baiting and dog fighting in Birmingham in the mid-1800s. The problems are caused by the people who buy them without accepting the responsibilities of dog ownership and the unscrupulous breeders who sell pups to anybody with enough money.

Indeed, there are dozens of breeders advertising their pups on the internet and charging anything up to £850 a time. It appears from their ads, many of which make frightening reading, that most breeders do not microchip their dogs, a procedure advocated by all the animal welfare organisations.

The London Borough of Wandsworth was recently highly commended in the Social Landlords Crime and Nuisance Group annual awards for its microchipping initiative. It is the first local authority to respond to public concern about the number of serious assaults involving dogs by introducing a compulsory scheme for all council tenants and leaseholders, who must get their animals chipped and registered on a borough-wide database. Failure to do so means they are in breach of their tenancy and lease agreements.

An extensive programme of dog microchipping road shows has rolled round the borough’s estates. Tenants’ and leaseholders’ dogs were chipped for free for a limited period. Other Wandsworth residents can get their animal chipped for £10. Neighbouring Lambeth offered free chipping during the Kennel Club’s recent London Dog Week.

Wide backing

All the major political parties support the nationwide roll-out of the scheme, and the idea is supported by the RSPCA and the Dogs Trust, both of which hold free dog-chipping sessions. In Liverpool, for example, the Dogs Trust ‘chip van’ makes frequent sorties around the city offering free health checks and dog chipping in a scheme supported by the council.

I wholeheartedly support the idea. If all dogs were chipped, it would be possible to trace the owners of uncontrolled and lost dogs. At the same time, it is essential that a free service is available to dog owners struggling on low incomes, not least the many older people who take great comfort from their dogs and would be lost without them. Not being able to afford to have your dog chipped should not be a barrier to dog ownership.

However, this is a very serious business. Each year children are maimed and even killed in dog attacks, and there are frequent attacks on dog owners and their pets. I would also like to see more councils introduce dog orders and make sure they are properly enforced. The dog may be man’s best friend, but it can also be a lethal enemy.

Bill Randall is a housing writer, journalist and Green Party councillor

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