Why The Secrecy?

Gordon Dickie’s four-year-old West Highland terrier Poppy is on a cocktail of painkillers following the mauling. Poppy will be signed off by a vet on Friday but it will be two months before her wounds heal after the attack by a Burmese mountain dog.

Mr Dickie’s greyhound/pointer crossbreed Oscar also had both his legs bitten in the attack near Rossie Island at the back of Montrose Basin. Twelve-year-old Oscar was chased and attacked but Mr Dickie’s jack russell Jocky – who is also 12 – escaped relatively unharmed after getting away.

They were lucky. Other dogs – and people – haven’t been.

Mr Dickie, who is retired, said the whole ordeal has left him and his wife Ann extremely upset and disappointed by the lack of police action.

“I read in The Courier that a Siberian husky owner was prosecuted by the court after killing 20 chickens near Forfar,” said Mr Dickie.

“What’s the difference between chickens and dogs? “I think the police should be taking this further – my dogs could have been killed.”

Maybe they will take it seriously if someone posts something on social media?

Or if they can chase the landlord for possible H&S breaches?

Mr Dickie said the police told him that it was not a case for them but for the dog warden in Angus. He said the dog warden has spoken to the owner of the animal responsible for the attack and was told precautions have been taken to ensure it will not happen again.

However, Mr Dickie said he was told the precautions have been kept “confidential” – something he thinks is “a nonsense”.

Well, quite! If he encounters this beast again, he’s entitled to know what precautions the owner is supposed to have undertaken. How else can he be sure that the dog warden’s advice is being complied with?

An Angus Council spokesman said: “Each incident is dealt with according to its own particular circumstances and, on this occasion, it is not appropriate to disclose further information.”

Owned by a council bigwig, is it?