Woman hospitalised after dangerous dog bit her hand so hard it exposed bone, and she broke her ankle trying to flee

Dangerous dogs and irresponsible dog owners are continuing to place unprecedented demand on the police force with an average of five reports a day in South Yorkshire of dogs causing injury or fear.

Officers strive to work with owners where possible, educate and change their behaviour, but sometimes owners do not take action and continue to pose a risk to communities, leaving police with no choice but to seize dogs and prosecute.

Earlier this month (1 April), a civil case was heard at Sheffield County Court involving a Doncaster dog owner and the future of his pet, an English Bull Terrier called Ragnor.

In January 2024, SYP received a report that Ragnor had bitten a person while out on a walk with their owner.

Officers worked with the owner and agreed that Ragnor would be walked muzzled and on a lead, and that he would attend the Blue Cross ‘Responsible Dog Owners’ course to understand how to be a better owner and reduce risk.

The owner failed to attend the course and was later seen walking his dog without a muzzle and lead.

A few months later, in June, a report was received that Ragnor had attacked a woman while out walking in woodland behind Askrigg Close in Doncaster.

The woman was hospitalised after suffering injuries to her hand, causing her bone to be exposed. She also sustained a fractured ankle when trying to flee from the dog.

Ragnor was seized by officers and has remained in police kennels since.

Ragnor’s owner failed to attend his court hearing and it was held in his absence, during which the judge placed a 10-year banning order on him and ordered that he pay back court fees and kennelling costs amounting to £8,016.

He also granted a destruction order for the dog.

Chief Inspector Emma Cheney, who is leading the work on dangerous dogs in South Yorkshire, said: “Dangerous dogs are continuing to take officers, resources and money away from other areas of policing and changing this starts with owners stepping up. “Our priority remains public safety and we are doing all we can to reduce the chances of people losing their life to dangerous dogs.

“In this case, we attempted to educate this owner, providing restorative justice, and giving him the chance to stand by Ragnor and change his behaviour. He failed to do so, and ultimately failed his dog.

“Please take action. Stop thinking it won’t happen to you. Any dog has the ability to cause harm. Be a decent owner.”

More information about training your dog, and making changes can be found here - https://www.bluecross.org.uk/advice/dog

*It’s against the law to let a dog be dangerously out of control anywhere, such as: in a public place; in a private place, for example a neighbour’s house or garden; in the owner’s home.

The law applies to all dogs.

You can report a dog that’s out of control.

Some types of dogs are banned.

Visit https://www.gov.uk/control-dog-public for information.