I cannot believe the statement made by Assistant Chief Constable Nigel Yeo that dogs are merely pieces of equipment and, when no longer viable, should be discarded.

If he thinks of animals in this way, I wonder how he considers human beings.

Dogs are God-made creatures, capable of thinking and feeling. If Bruce was vicious, it was because he was made so by the training he was given when young.

We all know what goes on at these police dog training centres - we still remember Essex a few years ago and I don't expect anything has changed.

I think it is time to seriously reconsider the use of dogs in the police force. This is just another nail in the coffin of the people's respect for the police.

-Helen Blandford, Hadlow Way, Lancing