A reader wrote to us:

The matter concerns a situation in Bolesławiec, in Osiedle Kwiatowe. A dog of the amstaff type is being allowed to roam free there—deliberately or otherwise. According to the person who reported the matter, the police and municipal police have already intervened. The interventions resulted in fines and penalty tickets. Unfortunately, the dog’s owner is taking no notice. The dog continues to run loose.

She added: – The dog poses a threat to people’s safety and to road traffic.

We contacted the injured party, a resident of Osiedle Kwiatowe. The man told us that the whole matter began three years ago, when his female dog came into heat. Since then, the situation has repeated regularly—approximately every six months.

The amstaff in question has no problem jumping over the fence onto the injured party’s property. (See the recordings.) Once, because of the owners’ carelessness in allowing the four-legged animal to run loose, it was taken away from them and placed in a shelter. But the owner’s granddaughter took it out of the shelter. And everything returned to square one.

The person who reported the matter says that when the amstaff runs unsupervised around Różana and Narcyzów, neighbors are afraid to get out of their cars. The dog also allegedly jumped on someone’s baby carriage.

Once, during the pandemic, the amstaff entered a Bolesławiec resident’s property when only his underage daughter was there. (This was when lessons were being held remotely.) The dog began barking at the girl. Fortunately, nothing bad happened because the injured party’s neighbor drove the animal away with a stick.

The animal damages the Osiedle Kwiatowe resident’s yard; it jumps onto his car, damaging it. The dog has also become entangled with the injured party’s female dog twice. Most recently—in March this year. The result? More puppies. The owner of the female dog spoke with the amstaff’s owner about the situation. He heard that “it’s a dog, that’s its nature.”

The man points out that he reported the matter to the services: the police and municipal police. It did not achieve much. He added that people suggested he have his female dog sterilized. But, as he emphasizes, his pet is not the problem, because she is not the one escaping and she is not aggressive. The problem is the neighbors’ dog.

In addition, the Bolesławiec resident is raising his young daughter alone while working hard. The PLN 600 cost of sterilizing the female dog is a considerable expense for him. He also has no time to collect signatures and intervene with the President of Bolesławiec, as his neighbors also suggested.

The upset man tells us that the services will probably only do something once the amstaff bites his daughter.

More than a week ago, we asked the Bolesławiec police and municipal police about the matter. As the District Police Headquarters informed us, the case will end up in court because “proceedings concerning an offense are under way.” This concerns Article 77 of the Code of Petty Offenses, which reads:

Article 77. § 1. Anyone who fails to take the usual or prescribed precautions when keeping an animal is subject to a penalty of restriction of liberty, a fine of up to PLN 1,000, or a reprimand.

§ 2. Anyone who commits the act specified in § 1 while keeping an animal which, through its behavior, poses a danger to human life or health is subject to a penalty of restriction of liberty, a fine, or a reprimand.

Whether the court’s decision will bring the matter to an end remains to be seen.

Updated June 22, 2023

Kamila Chalewicz-Pudłowska, commander of the Bolesławiec Municipal Police:

(...) I inform you that municipal police officers take official action every time they receive reports of dogs left unattended. In the case described, they intervened as follows:

  • 2020—2 interventions
  • 2021—7 interventions, including the last intervention, in October 2021, when, at the request of the Bolesławiec Municipal Police, the dog was placed in a shelter; the District Police Headquarters was additionally notified and a request was made for the animal to be temporarily taken away
  • from October 2021 to the present—the Bolesławiec Municipal Police intervened once in the matter of “allowing the dog to run loose” referred to in the inquiry; however, the report was not confirmed because the dog was at home with its owner. The intervention took place in May 2023.