Resident Ruth Yule addressed councillors at Cambridge’s North Area Committee on the 12th of September 2018 to relate an experience on the city’s notorious Fen Road:
Can I add to the dangerous dogs saga?
Monday afternoon about four o’clock walking home along Fen Road minding my own business, there’s a poor woman cyclist with two very large dogs barking around her, she looked extremely uncomfortable, probably very relieved when they gave up on her and started dancing around me, which I found very scary. I realised I should have reported it. Perhaps you can tell me who to? Nobody could have come to my rescue, apart from, two nice men in a big car, I did something my mother told me never to do, I got into a car with a strange man, but I reckoned I was safer in his car than I was on the pavement, and he did take me home without incident.
The dogs both had collars, they were seriously big, sort of looked Alsation-y, there was no sign of anybody with them. I think after we had gone they just gave up and went down the road, we didn’t see what happened to them.
At the previous North Area Committee, in the presence of the Police and Crime Commissioner I urged action in relation to dangerous dogs in the area; suggesting that it might be the case that the council’s dog warden’s threshold for considering a dog dangerous might be different from that of some members of the public so perhaps they could be used in more cases, especially in circumstances which wouldn’t warrant a police response. I suggested co-ordination between council and police policies to ensure there isn’t a gap where something is not serious enough for the police, but because “danger” has been mentioned the council won’t respond.
You can view that representation via:
Last night I asked councillors and @CambsCops to add dangerous dogs to the list of things they’re tackling in the Fen Road area of Chesterton. Vital to deal with this to make the area safe again. https://t.co/ZS1gkKOPcT https://t.co/ujaYa4wra0 https://t.co/0ArwdIdit3 @PCCCambs
— Richard Taylor (@RTaylorUK) June 22, 2018
If there’s any hint of danger @CamCitCo won’t send their dog warden out (surely all dogs are potentially dangerous!); and it’s not really an urgent police matter unless there’s a crime or serious imminent risk of harm. Council and police need to work together and consider options https://t.co/RKFhyjrcvU
— Richard Taylor (@RTaylorUK) June 22, 2018