Ennvironment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee Written evidence submitted by Gillian Laura Kaloyeropoulos

(1) It should not be a given that owners/keepers/service-users of Assistance Dogs always behave responsibly towards the dogs which they handle or indeed those being handled by third parties.

(2) I have grave concerns regarding the April 2013 proposed draft Dangerous Dogs (Amendment) Bill, in particular the matter of Assistance Dogs, where it is proposed “to make it explicit that an attack on an assistance dog is an offence under the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991 and that any attack on an assistance dog be considered an aggravated attack.”

(3) I have personal experience (evidence has been emailed to the RSPCA and to my MP, Fiona Bruce) of a visually impaired person behaving irresponsibly towards both his assistance dog and thus towards those ordinary dogs being handled by third parties so it must be accepted that there are likely to be other Assistance Dog Users, also capable of similar, irresponsible behaviour. The term “ANY attack” is simply unreasonable.

(4) The irresponsible behaviour of some Assistance Dog Users could provoke attacks from dogs being handled by mature, responsible people like myself.

(5) I am asking the committee responsible for reviewing the proposed amendment to be mindful of the fact that users of Assistance Dogs can be in the wrong and that it would be grossly unfair and unreasonable to consider “any” attack on an Assistance Dog as an “aggravated” attack in law.

April 2013