A court has passed a destruction order for a ‘dangerous dog’ that bit two people in Milford Haven.
Sixty-nine-year-old Ian Gent, of Castle Pill Crescent, appeared at Haverfordwest Magistrates Court on Tuesday, to plead guilty to being the owner of a Staffordshire bull terrier dog which was dangerously out of control, on December 3.
Prosecutor Vaughan Pritchard-Jones told the court that one of the complainants, Doreen May, was walking her two dogs just after 8 am along Castle Pill Crescent, when she saw postman Ian Sherwood on his daily paper round.
“The postman went through the gate of Mr. Gent’s house and saw the dog in the front garden, but he wasn’t fast enough to stop it getting out.
“The dog started to fight with Mrs. May’s two dogs and she tried to protect them, but fell over as she was doing so,” he explained.
As Mrs. May fell to the floor, the Staffordshire Bull, which is called Dexter, sank its teeth into her leg and dragged her backwards. Mr. Sherwood tried to help, but Dexter bit him too.
He then managed to get the dog in a head-lock, and held it around the throat to prevent it causing further damage.
The owner, Mr. Gent, was spoken to by police and he said that he had no idea that the gate had been left open.
“He explained that he was very sorry for what had happened and that he was aware that his dog didn’t like other dogs, but he had not gone for a human before,” added Mr. Pritchard-Jones.
Addressing the court himself, Mr. Gent apologised for the incident as it must have been a ‘very frightening’ experience for the victims.
“I’m responsible for Dexter and I take that responsibility very seriously,” he said, explaining that he had taken extra steps before and after the incident to ensure that the level of fencing in his garden was secure and had been checked by the animal rescue centre, from which he adopted Dexter back in April.
“When I adopted Dexter, I was told that he wasn’t a danger to other dogs and he got on with others in the kennel.
“People come to the house every day, to deliver newspapers, milk and various couriers come and go, and Dexter has never shown any aggression to them,” continued Mr. Gent, who told magistrates that he had also consulted with a dog behaviour expert.
Magistrates told Mr. Gent that they had no option but to issue a destruction order for the dog.
They fined the defendant £300 for the incident and ordered him to pay £300 compensation to Mrs. May and £100 to Mr. Sherwood for their injuries, plus prosecution costs of £85 and a £30 victim surcharge.
“We’ve listened very carefully to this sad case and been impressed with your honesty,” the chairman of the bench, David Ellis, told Mr. Gent.
“It’s hard to think of anything you could have done to improve the situation. Nevertheless, it was a very unpleasant incident and two people were hurt.
“By your own admission, Dexter has been an extremely difficult dog, despite the measures you have taken, but it’s fair to say that he is a dangerous dog,” he added, before passing the order, meaning the dog will be destroyed unless an appeal is lodged within the next 21 days.