The humble hound, a man's best friend and an animal that never fails to raise emotions amongst us humans.

I for one, would have one tomorrow if "her indoors" would allow, but coupled with her fear of dogs and the fact that I am sure she thinks I would shower it with more love and affection than I would her, has alas meant that until I retire I am to remain dogless.

And sometimes I think I am in the wrong job, as I get more angry when I hear about the mistreatment of animals than I do when I hear or read about similar attacks on some humans.

After all – these animals are somewhat defenceless.

It does however mean that as dog ownership increases then so does the responsibility of the owner, who in today's society has to look at the implications of ownership on a far wider scale than before.

We all receive flyers through our door telling us about pet insurance, micro chipping, vaccinations and other by-products relating to ownership.

Nowadays it can cost a small fortune to own a dog.

In recent weeks in our office at Fishponds we have seen an increase in what we term "dog jobs".

Some of these are clearly not a police matter. For example, continual barking from a resident's back garden is a noise complaint and should be directed at the council's noise pollution unit.

If there is evidence of neglect or abuse in relation to the dog then your local RSPCA will be happy to look into this and deal with it appropriately.

But there are some circumstances where police will investigate and deal with dog-related issues.

These can range from a minor dog bite to an instance where a dog has savaged a person or another animal.

Dog ownership has responsibilities.

This means that if you let your dog off its lead in an area where it could attack another person or dog then you are guilty of failing to control that dog.

That said if another dog is also off the lead then this is harder to prove and will normally result in words of advice to both parties.

An incident where the attacked dog is under control could lead to the owner of the attacking dog being prosecuted, and in some cases the dog having to be muzzled or at worst destroyed. The dog's owner may also face a hefty fine or be banned from keeping further animals. The cost of buying a dog can run into hundreds of pounds and is deemed as property.

So an offence which results in injury or damage to that dog can result in its owner being dealt with under the criminal damage act

On the odd occasion, due to legislation relating to the Dangerous Dogs Act, we sometimes get reports of illegally bred dogs being kept.

On these occasions we work closely with the RSPCA who will examine the dog and make a decision as to the breed or make up of the breed.

Once this is done then a decision on the fate of the dog is made.

Is it time for us to go back to the old days where we paid two and a half pence to get a licence to own our dog?

Maybe, maybe not.

But I remember a sense of pride at having that bit of paper as it made me feel like a responsible dog owner.