Dog on dog bites/attacks do happen often – many dogs are not properly socialised, lots of male dogs are not neutered, which does make them much more likely to be aggressive, and of course some owners think it’s good fun to encourage their dogs to chase cats and other small furries.

It is possible that poor little Benji (Daily Echo, Saturday) may have come into the ‘looks like a cat’ category.

We have been supporting and advising in a similar attack where the dog suffered horrendous injuries and £1,000 in vet bills.

Neither the dog warden nor the police were prepared to assist in getting these paid by the dog owner, nor even to visit the owner.

As in this case the dog was off the lead and being walked by someone other than the owner.

The person walking the dog is actually supposed to be in control of the dog, not the owner if he/she was not present.

If the owner has knowledge of their dog being aggressive towards other dogs then it would have been irresponsible not to have told the friend to keep him on a lead.

The Dog Rescue Federation, of which we are a founder member, has been formed to campaign for all dogs to be neutered unless they are to be bred from, in which case these dogs would be licensed, as would the breeder, and a decent licence fee would pay for the scheme to be enforced. It would help if vets brought down the cost of neutering to encourage dog owners to go down this route voluntarily.

It is only by cutting down on the ad hoc breeders that we will make each dog a valued animal and stop the thousands that are killed every year in the UK’s dog pounds.

Shelagh Meredith Chairman, Waggy Tails Rescue, Bournemouth