Dog owner fined after bite

Dog owner fined after bite

3 July 2013

A DOWNPATRICK dog owner has been fined £200 after his Staffordshire bull terrier bit his son’s girlfriend.

Sean Martin had previously contested the charge of being the keeper of a dog which attacked and injured a person, but at Downpatrick Court on Monday he pleaded guilty after a similar charge against his wife was ped.

A solicitor had argued the case shouldn’t proceed as the dog was a family pet, also cared for by their son, pointing out that the incident occurred when neither Mr. or Mrs. Martin were present.

He said the dog bit the woman in the early hours of the morning after she and her boyfriend returned to the Arkle Park house and a row broke out.

“This was simply an aberration,” he said.

“The fact that the son and his girlfriend were having a row led the dog to feel protective towards the son.”

District Judge Greg McCourt noted the dog had not been assessed as aggressive by a dog warden. He said he did not, however, want to risk a member of the public being attacked.

“You do not know what is in a dog’s mind,” he said.

In addition to the fine and imposition of £97 court courts, he ordered the dog be confined to a particular area of the family home and to be muzzled and on a lead when outside the house.