Pit Bull Seized on Streets of London Animal Saints and Sinners

Nearly half of Britain owns a pet.

It's the council and the police. Can you open the door, please?

But man and beast don't always live together in harmony.

I've reason to believe it is your dog

and you've had it for a fair few years and not two weeks.

When things go wrong, animal wardens are there to protect our pets...

and keep their owners in check.

I'm not having my dog taken off of me!

I love you too.

But for some of us, our animals are more than just pets.

I wouldn't know what to do without him.

They can change and even save lives.

I owe my life to these horses.

This is Animal Saints And Sinners.

DOG BARKS

Coming up...

The animal welfare team in Newham

tackle the growing issue of dangerous dogs.

Don't talk to me like that, please.

-How is he a pit bull?

-You cannot swear in a public place like that.

Why can't I? I'm travelling to work.

And we meet one girl whose four-legged friend

helped give her back her independence.

I definitely wouldn't be at college if it wasn't for Lucy.

I thought, "I need to do something with my life,"

and Lucy's now made that possible,

so I wouldn't be there if it wasn't for her.

And one special Yorkshire terrier

who called for help when their owner couldn't.

I got one of his toys

and I just started to throw it towards the machine all the time.

That's when I thought to myself,

"I've got a feeling he might just do it."

Newham, East London,

is one of the most deprived boroughs in the country.

Tina Delaney has worked with the animal welfare team for 22 years.

Her mission is to make sure everyone

and their pets can live safely side-by-side.

He's been assessed and he conforms to a pit bull type dog.

In recent years, Tina has seen a huge rise

in the number of prohibited breeds in the area.

We do have a lot of complaints about pit bulls.

Sometimes, people do use them to intimidate people.

You're making him anxious, cos he's been absolutely fine.

Listen to me. Just calm down on second.

Regularly working with the police,

she wants to crack down on this growing problem.

Our main priority in animal welfare is to deal with the adult dogs

as quickly and safely as possible.

Today, Tina is out on patrol with PC Sean Pickering.

They have a list of animal welfare complaints to investigate.

If you go round the back of the town hall...

But before they get to their first job,

Tina spot a dog that she suspects is a pit bull cross.

They stop to investigate.

It's illegal to breed from pit bulls and if this dog is a pit bull type,

he will have to be assessed and registered.

Listen, I can see the Shar Pei in him. I can see the Shar Pei in there.

-I want to make sure.

-Well, go to the vet! They'll tell you.

It's nothing to do with that.

The thing is, if you don't let me take him nicely then what's

going to happen is, if he is a pit bull, he won't be coming back to you.

-He ain't a pit bull! How is he a

-BLEEP

-pit bull?

-Don't talk to me like that, please.

-How is he a pit bull?

I'm saying I want to have him assessed. I can see the Shar Pei in him. I can.

-How is he a pit bull?

-And he might not conform but I want to assess him.

-What do you mean you want to assess him? He's a

-BLEEP

-Shar Pei Staff.

You cannot swear in a public place like that.

Why can't I? I'm travelling to work.

-Is it your dog?

-Yeah.

-Can I have a word with you?

-Shut up!

Right, OK. Let's go over there, then, shall we?

Tina takes the dog's owner to one side

to try and defuse the situation.

I can see that your dog has Shar Pei in it.

I'm not saying that it doesn't.

What I want to make sure is that your dog doesn't conform to being a type, OK?

Now, the thing is, we can either do this in a really nice way,

-where we do it...

-My dog don't like being without me.

So, then what happens?

OK, is your dog OK with strange people?

So, if we go over to the car park, just me and you, and I measure him?

When you hear stories about yous people taking people's dogs,

-it's not nice.

-Right, OK.

That's what I'm saying to you, I'm giving you an option.

We can go over there and I can do a preliminary assessment, or I can take him.

Well, of course. You can do the assessment, I don't mind.

Right, she needs to move. She needs to go away without shouting.

Me and you'll go over there, then. Right, Sean, you keep her there.

Me and you are going to go over there just on our own.

-Who is she calling?

-My boyfriend.

-All right, is he likely to kick off?

-It's his dog as well.

If this dog is a pit bull type he can only be made legal

if he does not present a danger to the public.

-What's your dog's name?

-Bruiser.

-Bruiser. Hello, Bruiser!

Hello, Bruiser! How old is Bruiser?

About one and a half, I think.

OK, and I can definitely see he's got Shar Pei in him.

I'm not doubting that and I'm not saying that he hasn't.

-Let's go and stand over here.

-I think he is Staffy and Shar Pei.

OK, but the thing is, there are various options if he does conform.

If anybody else kicks off, that's not going to happen.

-So, no matter what, you're taking my dog.

-I never said that.

We have got to do a preliminary the assessment, just me and you, while he's quiet.

If you hold his head for me, I want him to stand up.

I want you to hold his head. Don't let him go cos I don't want him to bite me.

-Oh, no, he won't go bite you.

-So, I want him to stand up.

I need you to hold his head away from me

so I can measure from here to there on him.

Oh, right, right, right.

To work out if Bruiser is a pit bull type, Tina needs to measure him.

Hello, Bruiser!

Bruiser, what you doing?

Got him? Good boy, Bruiser.

No, you've got to stand up, Bruise. He won't bite.

You just hold his head, hold it quite firmly.

Just sit down like this, hold him quite firmly

so he can't turn his head towards me. I'm just going to handle him, OK?

Good boy, Bruiser! There you go, Bruiser.

-She's not hurting you, is she?

-Let stand you up.

-Good lad.

-Good boy, Bruiser.

-Oh, I'm shaking.

-That's all right, don't worry.

Right, come on, Bruiser. Let's stand you up. You keep hold of him.

-Keep hold of him.

-You've got to stand up, Bruise.

-OK.

Bruiser is twitchy and is growling at Tina.

Good boy, Bruiser. Let's stand you up. Good lad.

There you go, look. Good boy!

Let's stand you up, Bruiser. Good boy!

That's all right, you hold him and I'll stand him.

Good boy, Bruiser. Good lad.

Good boy!

Good lad!

Right, just hold his mouth.

I'm going to touch the top of his head and he might not like that.

-That's fine.

-Good boy, Bruiser! Good lad!

Good boy! You're a good lad. You are a good lad.

-OK. So, he's your dog, is he?

-Yeah.

OK, this is what's going to happen.

I do need to take him for a proper assessment.

-I knew you was going to do that.

-Listen to me, though. Listen, OK?

The problem is, if anybody kicks off,

it's going to limit any chances of him ever coming home.

-But he ain't going to come home!

-No, no, I've not said that.

Tina hasn't been able to measure Bruiser properly.

She needs to take him away for a full assessment.

If he's not a pit, he'll come back to you tomorrow, I promise you.

-Is he neutered?

-No.

But what if you do find if there's traces of pit in there, then what?

Then we'll talk to you about various options.

It doesn't mean he's not coming home.

He's going to try everything to get out.

-He'll be fine. He'll be absolutely fine.

-He won't, he'll try.

When push comes to shove, the owner hands Bruiser over willingly.

Just put him in.

Come on!

He won't do inside this.

Good boy.

OK, I'm just going to take your best contact number.

-Thank you very much.

-Thank you. Thanks, mate.

Working in this area day in, day out,

Tina has come across other dogs from the same litter.

The dad is a registered pit bull

and I think people get a bit confused with that.

That sometimes, litter, some dogs will conform to type

and other dogs don't.

Because I am Newham's expert in pit bulls,

I did try to measure it while it was there, but she did say

it's kind of a bit iffy and it kept turning really quickly

and she wasn't kind of holding it,

and I couldn't get it to stand up properly.

Often if you have two people, if you separate,

you can calm the situation down,

because it allows one officer to stand

and talk to the person that's being abusive and possibly calm them down

and the other person, you can take away and give information to.

So, it kind of defuses the situation.

If we'd kept both of them together,

the likelihood of us seizing the dog in a very calm way

would have been very, very limited, really.

Find out later what happens to Bruiser.

In Wales, one woman's Yorkshire terrier

raised the alarm when she needed help.

Without Louis, I don't know how long I'd have been there.

He's been my best friend. He's been my companion.

He's just been the love of my life, really.

Judith lives on her own in Wrexham.

Now 60 years old, she suffers from arthritis and glaucoma.

The glaucoma was actually detected about 2010.

I was getting a lot of headaches. I couldn't stand the pain.

I just wanted to rip my eyes just to get rid of the pain.

And the doctor eventually sent me to the hospital

and I saw a consultant and he said, "You're going to go blind."

But he said, "I can't tell you when."

To make matters, as Judith's eyesight deteriorated,

she started to have anxiety problems.

She was becoming unable to leave the house.

Five years ago, Judith decided to see

if having a pet for company would help.

And that's when she met Louis.

First, he come running over to me.

I just started cuddling him. He was very friendly.

He's been friendly ever since.

Louis was a rescue dog

and had been badly neglected by his previous owner

and had to have his teeth removed,

so his tongue hangs out of his mouth.

Yes, I know it's a bit of a trial!

Judith and Louis bonded instantly.

I don't go anywhere without him. I wouldn't leave the house without him.

He comes everywhere with me.

I mean, I can take him into supermarkets,

I can take him into hospitals, dentists, doctor's surgeries.

When he's with me, if I'm walking, doesn't matter where it is,

if he sees anyone coming towards me he'll bark.

Because I can't see in the distance, so he lets me know what's coming up.

Even with Louis, Judith has continued to have panic attacks.

but this time, she wasn't alone.

I just started to hyperventilate.

He was sitting beside me, as he is now. He just come over to me.

Just literally walked across over to me, put his head under my arm,

and I just felt him like that and I started stroking him

and I started to calm down.

And I realised, he knows something's going on here

and he's coming over to me and he knows what's going to happen.

Although she was comforted by Louis,

Judith's vision continued to get worse,

leaving her unsteady on her feet.

She decided to have an emergency panic alarm system fitted.

I had the machine installed because, you know, if I had a fall,

I know that I'd have to have some sort of help.

And this is the machine, here.

It's just a plain white box with the lights and that.

As soon as I hit the button, the care corps people speak through it,

they come through it and they ask me if I'm all right

and do I need any help.

And that's how it works.

But Judith still had concerns.

If you've got a machine that's there to help you

and you can't get to it, you know, then it is worrying.

It's very worrying.

Especially if when you live by yourself

and there's no-one around to help you.

Judith noticed that Louis had taken

a particular interest in the machine.

She decided to see if she could train him

to press the button in an emergency.

When I had that last panic attack and he managed to get me out of it,

I was just thinking, my eyes kept going to the machine all the time.

Then I kept looking at the machine and looking at him

and thought, "I wonder... I just wonder."

So then I started to play with him.

And I got one of his toys

and I just started to throw it towards the machine all the time.

Nearer, and nearer, and nearer, and nearer

and I was going towards it with him.

And that's when I thought to myself,

"I've got a feeling he might just do it."

It wasn't long before Louie's training

was put to the test, when Judith fell badly

as she was stepping out of the shower one morning.

Just a stupid thing, but my foot just went straight under the mat.

I went down and I landed halfway in the hallway and in the living room.

MACHINE BEEPS

'Good morning, Mrs Shaw. You are through to Sarah. How can I help?'

'I've had a bit of a fall, Sarah.'

'Are you on the floor?'

And I said, "My leg is twisted up my back and I can't move it."

Well, she said, "How did you get to the machine to press the button?"

I said, "I haven't. I haven't been able to reach it."

Then she said, "Well, who's pressed it?"

I said, "It must have been Louie."

CALL: 'I've been training him to hit the button.

'And I didn't think he'd done it. He went straight to it.'

'Oh, isn't that marvellous?'

CRYING: 'I don't know what I'd do without him.'

'Aw, bless. Don't get upset.'

DOG BARKS

'It's all right.'

Louie's actions that day earned him an award from the PDSA.

I was proud. Very proud of him.

They say you can't teach an old dog new tricks,

but you certainly can, because, you know, he's an old dog

and he learnt a new trick and that was it. He did it.

You know, he pressed the button.

If it hadn't have been for him...

He came into my life and, you know, I've never looked back.

He's ruled me, but I've never looked back.

And I can't be without him.

South Holland, Lincolnshire.

In the fenlands of the East of England is a rural area

made up of farmland and rivers.

Rachel Thompson is the council's dog warden.

It can be highly emotional.

I mean, you're dealing with people as well as animals.

I get through a lot of tissues, shall we say.

I never stop crying some days.

Rachel's time is divided between tracking down problem dogs...

You haven't seen a white Staffordshire bull terrier still running around?

We've had reports in the past, but I don't know if it's been resolved.

-It's catching them when they're out, that's the trouble.

-Mornings.

..and looking out for abandoned animals in need.

You need some TLC, don't you? Hey?

You need some TLC?

In this day and age, there are more dogs than rescue spaces,

so it's a bit of a juggling act.

It's 9am and she's starting the day

chasing up messages left after hours.

Well, we've just got to phone up a lady that's lost her dog,

because, obviously, she has a disabled son,

so won't be able to get out there and find him on her own, possibly.

So we need to get some sightings and see when she last saw the dog

and see if we can work on that and help her find him.

Little Axel needs to return home, because her son is missing him.

So we will just phone her and see what's happening.

Axel, the family's Jack Russell, went missing yesterday morning.

Rachel wants to help the family find him,

as their disabled son is becoming upset.

Hello, there, it's Rachel, the dog warden,

just returning a call regarding Axel?

Hello, there. I just wanted to get an update on what's happening,

if you've had any sightings or...

CRYING WOMAN REPLIES

Oh. OK. Whereabouts are you? I'll come to you.

I'll see if we can help you.

-WOMAN SOBS

-'Sorry...'

(Dead.)

'They just found him, I'll be there shortly...'

Right, well, I'll head down now. I'm in the office.

I'll come now and see what we can do to help you. OK, then.

-I'll be with you soon.

-'Thanks very much.'

-Thank you, bye.

Unfortunately, Axel's dead. He's been found,

he's in a river she can't get to him, so we need to get down there

and see if we can help her get the dog out of the river.

Poor woman is very distressed, so we'll just get down there.

See what we can do.

Obviously, I'm quite an emotional person.

I think you have to be to do this job.

If anybody is crying, it upsets me as well.

The farmland of The Fens is a reclaimed flood plain.

Man-made ditches run along the edge of the fields,

so excess water can drain away.

We've got a lot of rivers and dykes and very deep drains,

so it's the nature of the area.

Rachel wants to help retrieve the dog,

so they can bury him as a family.

Such a tragic story.

And obviously, to top it all, it's her son's dog.

So very upsetting.

These sort of situations are always the hardest,

because these people obviously love this dog

and it's going to be extremely hard for them to deal with his loss,

never mind the situation of his death, as well.

SHE KNOCKS ON THE DOOR

Hi, Paula? Hi, ever so sorry.

-SOBBING:

-Sorry.

-No, it's all right.

I have a Jack Russell. I can't understand how you must feel.

-I'm just going to get my partner up to be with the baby and I'll take you to him.

-OK.

It's an awful thing to find, isn't it?

Your dog in the river. And then not being able to get them out.

Thank you. You know, because I...

Normally when you get dogs in the water,

it's because they're used to going in there swimming.

No, he's never been into water.

He's always hid away from water.

He has been very ill, so I don't know if...

He's disorientated.

-Yeah. How old was he?

-13.

-13.

So he could have easily got disorientated then, couldn't he?

-He is my disabled son's best friend.

-Oh, gosh.

-Where is your son at the moment?

-He's at school.

-Oh, dear.

He 's gone all the way down there, and he's between that bush

-and that bush, in the river.

-Between that bush and that bush?

Yeah. Down there.

My 12-year-old's going to find it harder, I think.

He's literally born the same month, a year later.

-So he's always had puppy dog.

-Yeah.

-He doesn't know anything else, does he?

-No. No.

-And terriers are very spirited little dogs.

-Yeah.

He's never bitten anybody in his old age.

He's had my disabled child climbing all over him.

He's just let them, took it...

SHE CRIES

I know, I can't imagine how you're feeling.

They did well to find him.

You should never blame yourself.

Things, unfortunately...

Horrible things sometimes happen, don't they?

It's out of our control.

Just after this lump of mud. Up here.

-He hasn't been himself. He really hasn't.

-No.

-You notice, don't you?

-Yeah.

Come on, puppy dog. Where are you?

-There he is. Oh!

-Oh, my gosh.

Right. I'll just have a look what gear I'm going to need.

Right. What I'll do is I'll get something to help with removal.

-You don't have to be here when I do this.

-I want to be here.

He was my puppy. I've got to be the first one to hold him.

-Are you sure?

-Yeah.

-I'll just nip back now and get the stuff.

-OK.

-Let me get him a towel to wrap him up in.

-Yeah.

Rachel has the equipment that will help them get Axel back.

How long has the dog been missing?

He went missing yesterday morning at around about 11 o'clock.

We went to search the whole village.

We've had most of the neighbours out looking for him,

shouting in fields.

And this morning we found him in a ditch.

Heartbreaking for me, but it's going to be worse for the kids.

One of the hazards of the Fenlands are the deep ditches and drains,

which have caught out many animals over the years.

OK. Right...

Won't be long there, Axel.

I'll just leave them there cos hopefully I won't need them.

We'll give it a whirl. Erm...

I think we need to extend this pole a little bit more.

The idea is to hook it round his body...

and then pull the loop...

so that we can close it and pull him out this horrible drain.

You can only see part of his body...

and obviously there's reed beds in there.

So it's a case of...

getting him and not half the river bed - drain.

He's out.

I don't want her to see him like this.

There he is.

SHE SOBS

Here you go.

Careful, baby. You're all right.

Let's take you home.

-Good boy.

-SHE SOBS

You're all right.

Good boy.

-Come on, let's get you home.

-So sorry, Axel.

Let's get you home.

Do you want any help with him? You manage him?

I can manage him, thank you.

I'll just get my lasso.

Come on, baby.

An absolutely horrible thing...

anybody to find, never mind when you own the dog.

The only good news - at least she did find him and...

she's got that closure.

It would be always worse - the not knowing.

-I hope everything goes OK with the family later anyway.

-So do I.

Fingers crossed your boys are...understand.

They will. They'll be fine.

But thank you so much.

-Take care anyway, won't you?

-Thank you.

-Bye.

-Bye.

It's...an awful thing for anyone to deal with,

but when you've got young kids in the household, it's...

It's even harder to explain to them, suddenly, why their dog is dead.

Hopefully the children will get some understanding of what's

happened rather than if he never come back.

At least they understand that, you know,

he's passed away and he'll have a nice place in the garden, hopefully,

that they can visit if they're feeling down and...

That will feel better for them as well.

In Somerset,

one woman has got her confidence back with the help of her

Labrador Lucy.

I never thought it was possible for a dog to have such a massive

impact on every part of my life, but she has.

She's just completely opened everything up and, yeah,

I would never swap her. She's amazing.

Annie grew up in Weston-super-Mare.

She was a normal, happy, bright teenager

and was planning to be the first person

in her family to gp to university.

She was 16 when her symptoms started.

One morning, I literally woke up and my foot was just in agony

and I couldn't put it to the floor.

Over time, my leg started turning in at a different angle and...

I found it difficult to walk.

Within about six months of my foot being bad and me being in crutches,

my other leg started being a problem as well.

And then, literally, it was probably years later that my hands

started becoming a bit of an issue.

So it was... It was a very gradual process. It wasn't quick.

At the age of 17, Annie was diagnosed with dystonia,

a rare neurological disorder that affects her mobility.

She lost the use of her legs and arms and had to be hospitalised.

Whilst I was in hospital and in the time around that time,

my friends were kind of finishing college or sixth form

and they'd got their A-levels.

They were going to university, one went abroad,

one went to Oxford, and they were kind of starting a new life,

driving cars, and you did feel a little bit left behind at the time.

It was quite a contrast,

looking at what your life would have been like had this not have happened.

Annie had planned to take her A-levels and go to university.

Instead, she was facing life at home with full-time care.

I came a period in hospital where afterwards I needed a lot of care.

And, originally, I had about 90, late 90 hours a week,

so basically from the minute I got up to the minute I went to bed,

I had a carer here with me.

Trudy has been caring for Annie since 2009.

-Hello. You all right?

-Yeah.

'When we first started caring for Annie, we did everything for her -

'personal care, helping with food, medication -'

so it was quite a test in the beginning

and with the amount of hours that we had, being with her all the time.

It was... It was a bit of a test and, you know,

we all had to get used to each other, but we got there.

It was difficult to get used to having carers with me...

because I'd always been quite independent.

-Do you want the white folders?

-Yeah.

Annie had months of physiotherapy and regained the use of her hands,

but Trudy realised the illness

had affected more than just her mobility.

It was Annie's confidence, really, in the beginning,

that was more of an issue, I think.

I mean, she had come to terms with her disability and, you know,

we were very au fait with what she needed and what she wanted.

But confidence-wise, there wasn't a great deal more that we could

do for her than what we were.

So it was kind of trying to figure out what would work

and what would build her confidence apart from us.

'I found it quite awkward sometimes, going out on my own.

'I didn't really go much further than the local shop

'and I didn't feel very confident.

'I didn't like it when people came up to speak to me.

'I didn't really know what to say to them.'

And, yeah, I just had no confidence at all.

Two years ago, Annie and Trudy decided it was time to tackle

Annie's loss of confidence head-on.

Me and Trudy went up to an information day

with Dogs for the Disabled.

They invited us and they basically discussed what the dogs were,

what they could do...for people.

Can you pull?

Pull. Pull.

Thank you. Good man.

The charity trains dogs to help people living with disabilities.

The idea is that, through practical assistance,

a dog can offer freedom and independence for their owner.

Within about five minute of the talk, I was like,

"This just sounds perfect."

I kept looking at Trudy and we were both feeling the same thing, I think.

So, yeah, it was...exciting.

Turn.

Beautiful turn. Good boy. Very good.

Each dog is trained for two years to make sure

they have the right skills and temperament.

It's about the actual dogs giving a quality of life

boost to people.

Not completely life-changing - it can be -

but it's more about dogs providing physical assistance in many ways.

But also giving the opportunity to develop people's life skills,

act as a bridge back into their community because dogs in this

country in particular are great conversational pieces,

and help people in actually finding their true potential, really.

Sit. Good boy. Come along.

Beautiful Barney.

I went for an interview and on the day they had several dogs there,

and one of them was a black Labrador called Lucy.

It was just something about her.

She had almost like a cheeky look on her face

and I kind of fell in love with her straight away, I think.

Yes, thank you.

Two months after their first meeting,

Lucy came to live with Annie.

Lucy does loads round the house. She empties washing machines,

she helps with tidying up when there's things on the floor.

Lucy, fetch the post. Fetch the post.

I've had her two years now and we're still coming up with new things,

so it's not that what she does now is all she'll be able to do.

We're always finding other things that she does

and I think all that's actually quite helpful -

we'll work on that - and she's learning new things all the time.

Lucy, pull.

Little by little, Lucy was helping Annie to get her independence back.

Good girl.

I have a lot less care hours now.

The big difference with having Lucy now is going to

bed on my own at night.

Now the carers just come in to get me ready and then Lucy can,

because she's here,

she'll take off socks and things and shoes before I get into bed.

So that's like the biggest impact in terms of now I can choose

when I want to go to bed rather than it being at a set time.

When I first met Annie,

she had aspirations of going back to college and to university,

but unfortunately, at that point, it just didn't happen.

So when Lucy came along,

knowing the aspirations that she had at the time,

that was it, really.

She was set on it, she knew she wanted to go to college.

And then, with Lucy being there, it was perfect, really.

-All ready?

-Yeah.

-Strapped in?

-Yeah.

One year after Annie met Lucy, she was viewing her life in a new way.

I've gone back to college to do some more A-levels

and Lucy comes to college with me every day.

And we're looking into getting to go to university to do a biology,

and eventually a PGCE and becoming a teacher.

Lie down.

Good girl.

Lucy loves college. She's very well-known around the campus.

Everybody knows who Lucy is.

They forget my name, but they remember the dog.

Fetch.

Good girl. Thank you.

'I definitely wouldn't be at college if it weren't for Lucy,

'because it didn't even enter my mind to go back until I had had Lucy

'for about a year.'

Because of feeling confident, I thought,

"I need to do something with my life."

Lucy's now made that possible,

so I wouldn't be there if it wasn't for her.

She's like a different person.

It's amazing to see how a dog can make such a difference to

somebody's life when she went through all the rehabilitation,

the physio that we done,

but that confidence that she built after having Lucy was just

phenomenal. And, you know, they're an asset to each other.

Ever since the diagnosis and the not being well,

it kind of felt like everything was on pause and kind of all my friends,

because of all what they were doing,

I just felt like my life was on hold.

And I think Lucy's kind of pressed play again and made it carry on.

Back in Newham, animal welfare manager Tina Delaney has

picked up a suspected pit bull type in the street.

The thing is, if you don't let me take him nicely,

then what's going to happen is, if he is a pit bull,

he won't be coming back to you.

She's taking him to a secret location to be assessed.

I'm going to get Bruiser out.

Obviously Bruiser's a little bit nervous. He's...

a little bit anxious, so he's displaying nervous aggression.

So it's just... DOG GROWLS

As you can hear. So it's just a case of just being gentle with him,

really, and taking a bit of time. He's panting.

She said at the time that's not used to being handled by other people

and he hardly goes out, so he's worried. It's a new situation.

Pit bulls were originally bred for fighting

and can often be aggressive.

There's always a risk of being bitten.

If you went in there and you were really firm and fast with him,

then you probably are going to get bitten, because he's nervous.

If you're kind of gentle with him,

then hopefully he'll be absolutely fine.

Hello...Bruiser. DOG GROWLS

Hello, Bruiser.

You're a silly boy, aren't you?

You a silly boy, Bruiser? DOG GROWLS

Oh, Bruiser. Good boy, Bruiser. DOG GROWLS

Here's a good boy.

Bruiser, good boy?

You're a silly boy, eh?

Do you want to come out? DOG GROWLS

Bruiser?

Do you want to come out with me, Bruiser?

Do you want to come out with me, Bruise?

You're a good boy. Are you ready?

Are you ready?

He's a good lad.

Good boy, Bruiser. Look, it's all right. It's just the lead.

Often their problems occur because the owners haven't trained dogs,

haven't taken the time to train the dogs, or have trained the dogs

in a way that isn't acceptable.

You know, they've trained them

to be aggressive or they've trained them to guard them.

My biggest problem is that the dogs are often the victims

because the dogs are behaving in a way that pleases their owner often,

or they've not been trained, so it's very difficult.

He's just a bit anxious

and I'm just sort of trying to take my time with him.

Just going to his lead out with this.

Good boy, Bruiser. Good boy.

There you go. Good lad.

Good boy. There you go.

He's a good lad.

Gonna come out, Bruise?

He's a good boy, aren't you?

Come on, then. Come on. Come on, Bruiser. Come on.

Come out. Come on.

Good boy, Bruiser.

Good boy. There you go. He's a good lad.

Good boy. Good boy.

Come on, then. Come on, Bruise.

Good boy.

That's better, isn't it? Good lad.

Come on, Bruiser.

Good boy. Bruiser, come on.

Come on. Good lad.

Good boy. Come on.

Come on, Bruiser. Bruiser.

Despite Tina's reassurance, when he hears the other dogs barking,

Bruiser freezes.

He's a bit nervous. He's a good boy. DOGS BARKING

You're a good boy. He's a grumpy man, aren't you?

You grumpy? Are you grumpy?

Good boy, Bruiser.

Come on. Come on.

Bruiser.

Can you give me some Schmackos?

Pardon?

Go on, then. DOGS BARKING

Come on.

It's all right. It's all right. Don't be silly.

It's all right, Bruiser.

With the temptation of a dog treat,

Tina finally manages to persuade Bruiser into the kennels.

I'm just going to scan him to see if he's got a microchip.

It's all right. Look.

BEEPS

Good boy.

He hasn't got a microchip in him.

So really she hasn't been a responsible owner at all.

She's not microchipped him, she's not kept her vaccinations up-to-date,

and she hasn't castrated him.

And, more importantly, she hasn't socialised him.

His aggression is through being really nervous.

And like she said at the time, he hardly ever goes out.

If you don't take a dog out in public places,

it becomes nervous of near enough everything.

And, you know, it will then display nervous aggression,

just like Bruiser does.

-Yeah, where's he going?

-He's going next to Alfie.

-He's not OK with other dogs.

-He's not OK with other dogs?

DOGS BARK

She knows that she has a dog that will potentially bite

and yet she's walking it in a public place off a muzzle.

Bruiser.

If somebody frightens her dog, or walks past her,

or walks a bit too close to the dog,

and that dog turns round and bites somebody,

then she's responsible for that.

Because if your dog bites somebody in a public place

and you know that your dog was a biter,

then your dog is likely to be seized and you are likely to be prosecuted.

Good boy. There you go. Good lad.

DOG BARKS

He's not very happy.

Good boy. There you go. Come on. Good boy.

If Bruiser is found to be a pit bull type,

his owner would have to agree to the strict conditions,

otherwise he'll be destroyed as it's not possible to re-home banned dogs.

If he was my dog, regardless of his breed,

I would be walking him on a muzzle just in case.

There aren't many dogs that we wouldn't go into the cage with,

but with Bruiser you would have to take a lot of time and spend a

lot of time with him before you would be able to go in there with him

because he's not of sound temperament and would bite you.

If I just opened the cage now and went to walk in there with me,

he would bite me. So it's about spending some time with him.

He is very food orientated and using that as an advantage.

DOG BARKS

'My biggest problem is, the dogs are often the victims...

'because the dogs are behaving in a way that pleases their owner often,

'or they've not been trained, so it's very difficult.'

In Lincolnshire, Axel is buried in the garden

and the family visit him each day.

Although he hasn't been forgotten,

the family now have a new rescue dog.

Annie has finished the first year of her A-levels

and is looking into which university she and Lucy will go to next year.

After a full assessment,

it was confirmed that Bruiser was a pit bull type.

A court decided that, due to his aggressive temperament,

he had to be put down.