A dangerous dog insurance policy is chief among several measures veteran plastic surgeon Dr Guyan Arscott wants the Government to look into as debate intensifies about the century-old legislations pertaining to dogs, following the killing of 66-year-old Whittington Cole by dogs recently.

Arscott was making a presentation to editors and reporters at the Jamaica Observer on Friday when he made note of the 1877 Dog Liability Act and the 1904 Cruelty to Animals Act.

“In the United Kingdom, there is an increasing demand to end ownership of Rottweilers and pit bulls. Request for the owners to have increasing insurance coverage are now widespread. Here, once the dog bites you, there is no way the owner is going to win that case. Even if the dog bit you on their property they are going to lose the case. So they might as well have increased insurance coverage if you are going to own these dogs. This should be mandated as a policy,” Arscott said.

“Our experience in this country is that we have an old law. The owner of every dog shall be liable in damages for the injury done to any person by his dog. That is the [140]-year-old Dog Liability Act that we still use. So that’s why I am saying if the thief comes over your fence picking your mango and your dog bites him, you are liable,” the doctor said.

He urged the Government to act now to address the issue presented by these dangerous dogs before there is another fatal incident.

“We take too long to address issues in meaningful ways. Even though you may not be able to solve the whole problem, because this is not so straightforward when you have pets attacking people, pay attention. Don’t let it go on the back burner. There’s no follow-through. We talk about nine-day wonders in Jamaica and it is true. If a commitment is given to deal with this issue in a meaningful way it goes and is filed away, and there are so many things that happen every day that it just gets replaced by another event. Until some other tragedy pops up we won’t start to gather some froth,” said the doctor.

He added: “Institute some policies. They may be inadequate… but at least you can go back and tweak it or add to it and do something — but nothing is done”.

Cole was walking in Hampton Green, Spanish Town, when he was attacked by dogs believed to be pit bulls and Rottweilers about 12: 45 am. He died during surgery at the Spanish Town Hospital.

Arscott said his death was a tragedy and shared tips on how to act when dealing with a pit bull or Rottweiler.

“Avoid approaching or bending over dogs that are lying quietly. Avoid approaching these dogs when you’ve entered their territories. Don’t play with them until they become overexcited. They change. Their genetic predisposition takes over and whether you are an owner or keeper, they will just attack you when they get overexcited. Do not hold your face close to the dog. Don’t allow them to roam unleashed. They must have a leash. This must be a law. Do not disturb them while they are eating, sleeping or nurturing their puppies. Never leave small children alone with dogs. Never ignore the warning signals of aggressive behaviour,” he said.

“[Also] do not challenge the dog by staring it directly in the eye. Be as still as possible if approached by one of these dogs, and if knocked down by a dog roll like a small ball and stay still. Other than that, we have to hope that our ministries, as we stated before, will do the right thing and look into this problem as other countries have done,” Arscott added.

http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/news/insure-your-dogs-plastic-surgeon-urges_142589