This is a picture of a pet Labrador that was savaged by a bull terrier dog in York.
It had severe injuries – and it wasn’t the only victim.
The same ‘danger dog’ attacked and nearly killed another family’s pet Yorkshire Terrier. Now its owners have been sentenced in court for their reckless behaviour.
First attack
The first attack was witnessed by two City of York Council officers on August 25 last year.
They saw the dog, called Sally – a large American bull terrier crossbreed – biting the neck and back of a black Labrador which was on a lead held by an older man.
Sally was owned by Kelly Coxon, 37, and Wayne Martin, 27, both of Kingsway North, York.
Martin tried to pull the bull terrier away by the scruff of her neck while Ms Coxon stood by. One of the council officers was bitten on attempting to intervene.
The elderly owner of the Labrador was in shock and, with his dog, was driven to a vet by a witness. The Labrador had severe injuries to the neck and throat but has made a good recovery.
Coxon and Martin were invited for interview twice, but failed to attend or make contact.
Second attack
On December 1, a woman was walking her neighbour’s Yorkshire terrier along Kingsway North when the same American bull terrier cross – again without a collar or lead – attacked the terrier.
Two cyclists stopped to try to help until Coxon arrived, and pulled Sally back to her house without speaking to anyone involved.
A neighbour drove the woman and terrier to a vet where the dog had surgery to his significant wounds. He stayed with the vet for nearly two weeks and was not expected to survive.
Both Coxon and Martin were invited in for interview and again failed to attend.
Sally was later found straying and was taken to the RSPCA. Coxon claimed she had sold the dog and it was no longer hers.
No one claimed the dog. Because of her aggressive behaviour towards staff and other dogs, Sally was destroyed.
‘We will prosecute’
At York Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday (May 24), Coxon and Martin pleaded guilty to two offences under the Dangerous Dogs Act.
They were ordered to pay £300 compensation for the distress caused to each of the owners.
Magistrates put them under a nightly curfew from 7pm until 7am, every day for four months.
The court also banned them from owning any dog for five years, with neither able to apply for the disqualification to be lifted for a minimum period of three years.
Martin Farran, director with responsibility for community safety at City of York Council, said:
Owners who take their duties seriously should not be in fear other dogs.
We will prosecute those who fail to control their dogs which then become a danger.