Dog attack fears see potential foster carers turned away

The British Association for Adoption and Fostering (BAAF) says that some local authorities have recently taken a tougher line on approving dog owners as potential carers for looked-after children following a six per cent rise in dog attacks in England in 2014. 

Paul Adams, foster care development consultant for BAAF, said: “Some people have been deemed unsuitable and chosen to keep their pet rather than pursue fostering or adoption. Mostly this happens at a very early stage in the assessment process and there is lots of anecdotal evidence about this.”

This reluctance to approve owners of some dog breeds comes at a time when there is a shortage of carers and adopters – figures published last week by the Fostering Network show 8,300 additional foster carers need to be recruited this year to keep pace with the rise in the number of children in care.

Most local authorities blacklist breeds of dogs named in the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991, but some have gone further by ruling out owners of bulldogs, border collies and Alsatians as potential adopters and foster carers. One fostering service categorised these dogs as incompatible with children aged up to 11, but acceptable with older children.

BAAF says councils' tougher stance is confusing social workers, and comes despite research showing the beneficial effects dogs can have on emotional wellbeing, mental health and relationships.

Adams said that when he was a fostering panel adviser he saw practitioners struggling to make decisions on what dogs were suitable.

“It was very clear that the dominant panel members considered dogs a nuisance and saw them only as a risk in fostering settings," he said.

“This was evident in terms of panel members comments that assumed large dogs especially were unhygienic, and expecting that applicants would be willing to get rid of their dogs if circumstances made it necessary.

“There was no indication of an understanding about how hard this could be for people who loved their dogs.

“There are dogs that are potentially more dangerous or constitute more risk than other dogs but it’s only that, a potential risk.”

BAAF has produced new guidance, written by Adams, to help local authorities and social workers develop what it calls “proportionate” policies around pet ownership and assessing people’s suitability to care for a looked-after child.

It draws on findings from the Dangerous Dogs Act Study Group, which is made up of dog charities, that argues each animal should be individually judged on its behaviour, context and the way it has been trained, rather than what it looks like.