Sunday, April 7, 2013

Law Against Killer Dogs Has No Teeth

Parents rage at owner of Jade killer dogs | The Sun |News:

'via Blog this'Shirley said: “We went to see her — I still couldn’t believe it was true.
“Up until then I was still convinced it would be someone else, that it was a mistake.
“Her whole body was covered with white blankets, they covered her head and neck so all we could see was her little face.
“It had bruises on it and her eyes were open. I kissed her and I held her hand, there were scratches all over it.
“I didn’t want to leave her, we were in there hours, but I couldn’t bring myself to say goodbye to her.
“I said, ‘I love you, I’ll miss you, I just want you back home’.
“I am glad I went because I had to see her and kiss her that last time. But she didn’t look peaceful, she didn’t look at peace.”
Mike and Shirley Anderson and Jade Lomas-Anderson
Hug ... Shirley, Mike and Jade
Jade’s stepdad Mike, 33, revealed how he and Shirley keep listening to a recent voicemail which the teenager left on his mobile by mistake.
Mike, who had raised Jade since she was a small child, said: “She is with her friend and she called my phone by accident. They are just talking but Jade swears.
“Then she obviously sees that she has called me and she says, ‘Oh no, I’ve rang my dad. Hello dad? Dad? It’s OK he’s not there!’
“And she puts it down. It makes me laugh listening to it, I love hearing her voice.”
Shirley and Mike have spent this weekend making arrangements for Jade’s funeral, when she should have been getting ready to return to school tomorrow after the Easter holidays.
The couple spoke for the first time about the shocking attack that killed Jade on March 26.
Jade Lomas-Anderson and sister
Loving ... Jade with sister Sianne
They had allowed Jade to enjoy a rare sleepover at a friend’s house as a reward for a glowing school report.
Jade, who suffered from ADHD, had just started at a mainstream school after spending her early childhood at a specialist school.
When she achieved a string of A and B grades, her parents said she could stay overnight with her friend Kimberley Concannon, 16.
Jade Lomas-Anderson and mum
Best mates ... Jade and her mum
Shirley stayed in regular online contact with Jade throughout the evening.
The next day Jade briefly went home to get her medicine before returning to the address where she would be found dead just hours later.
Distraught Shirley said: “She came back just after lunchtime to have her medication. She had on her white pyjama bottoms and they had pink love hearts on them.
“But she had scribbled all over them with a pen, things like ‘I love One Direction’ and ‘I love Harry’.
“She was only home for ten minutes. I asked her what she had been doing but she said she would tell me later.
“I had been on Facebook with her all night anyway — we were constantly in touch with each other. We were best friends.
“She took her medicine and then she said she was going back to get changed into her clothes.
“As she left she turned to me and said, ‘I love you, let me know when you are picking me up’.
“That was the last time I saw her alive.”
Jade made the short walk back to Kimberley’s home in Atherton, Greater Manchester, and was alone there when the dogs attacked her at 2pm.
The animals’ owner Beverley Concannon, 44, is believed to have been at nearby shops when it happened. It is not known where Kimberley was.
Jade Lomas-Anderson attack dog
Vicious ... attack dog
Neighbours claimed Jade was savaged after she walked into a room eating a meat pie.
One of the animals leapt at the snack and as Jade tried to fight it off it grabbed her by the throat and dragged her to the floor.
The other animals then joined in, killing the helpless girl.
Mike told how they first learned of the attack from a neighbour who knocked at their door.
He said: “She was hysterical and gave us a girl’s name — but it wasn’t Jade’s name.
“She said we needed to go round to Kimberley’s as there had been a terrible accident involving some dogs.
“I got in the car and drove straight there. The neighbour had said the name wrong and I really believed that it wasn’t going to be our Jade.
Jade Lomas-Anderson attack dog
Killer ... bull terrier
“I had dropped her there the day before and when I got there, police tape was up.
“I left my car in the road and the police said, ‘You can’t leave that there’.
“I just ran, I actually wrestled with the police but I couldn’t get through, I could hear Shirley shouting behind me.
“I shouted at them, ‘Is she dead?’ I wanted it to all be wrong.
“They told me to get back in the car and drive home and they would follow.
“I looked at Shirley and she just collapsed because she couldn’t get to Jade.
“We needed to try to help her — it is all a blur, a nightmare.”
Jade Lomas-Anderson attack dog
Bite ... bull mastiff
Shirley, who ran barefoot to the Concannons’ house, said: “I just wanted to get to Jade, I wanted to see her, I thought there had been a mistake — it couldn’t be my Jade.
“I was screaming, ‘I want to see my baby, I want to see my baby’ but I couldn’t get through the police, I couldn’t get to her.”
As Shirley broke down in tears, Mike continued: “I got Shirley in the car and we drove back home.
“Two officers followed us. We stood in the front room, we were both shaking uncontrollably, and the police said, ‘We are really sorry but she has passed away’.
Jade Lomas-Anderson with cut-out of One Direction's Harry Styles
Idol ... Jade with cut-out of One Direction's Harry Styles
“I grabbed a picture of Jade from the mantelpiece and said, ‘This little girl? Are you sure it is this little girl?’
“They looked at me and said they were 99.9 per cent sure that it was her. And then we both just fell apart.”

Loophole which lets owner off

By TOM WELLS
BRITAIN’S dangerous dogs laws stretch back almost 180 years.
But glaring loopholes mean breeder Beverley Concannon, 44, who owned the dogs that mauled Jade to death, will NOT be prosecuted because the attack happened on private property.
Victorian MPs brought in legislation in 1839 to tackle the problem of out-of-control dogs in London.
Careless owners were fined 40 shillings or given two weeks in jail for not keeping their animal on a lead. In 1871 cops were given powers to destroy violent dogs.
Until 1987 every owner had to buy a 37p dog licence, although the law was rarely enforced.
MPs passed the first Dangerous Dogs Act in 1989, which boosted court powers to prevent people from owning a dog.
In 1991, a new law was passed banning people from owning four types of dog — pit bulls, Japanese Tosas, Dogo Argentinos and Fila Brasileiros.
Labour watered down the controls in 1997.
Courts were given more say on whether a dangerous dog could be given a second chance after an attack.
By 2010 convictions for dangerous dog offences had soared by 40 per cent year-on-year. And between 1990 and 2012 hospital admissions caused by dog bites rose by a staggering 551 per cent.

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