A “dangerous” dog that savaged its next-door neighbour and left her lying in a pool of blood could be rescued from death row after a plea to appeal court judges.
Terrier cross-breed Ollie was ordered to be destroyed after Perth Sheriff Court heard how it leaped over a 7ft fence and attacked Margaret McLeod in her own garden.
The victim told the court that she was “petrified, terrified and shocked” as the Staffordshire/labrador cross locked its teeth into her hip and arm and tried to drag her to the ground.
Mrs McLeod, who is a retired property developer, broke down in the witness box as she described the attack at her home in Perth’s Douglas Court last June.
Ollie’s owner, Pauline Reid, was banned from keeping dogs for three years and ordered to carry out 150 hours of unpaid work.
Now, the 32-year-old health studies student is fighting to overturn the sentence at the Court of Criminal Appeals in Edinburgh.
Judges are considering dropping the destruction order and have asked for Ollie to be assessed by animal behaviour experts. The dog’s fate will be decided at a follow-up hearing next month.
However, the court has quashed an appeal against Reid’s conviction.
Agents had argued that there was not enough corroborative evidence to suggest that the dog was a danger and that Sheriff Fiona Tait should have accepted a no-case-to-answer submission.
In his written opinion, appeal court judge Lord Bracadale said that there was evidence of “an unusual degree of concern” about the dog’s behaviour before the attack.
Mrs McLeod had told the court that she had been afraid to go into her garden if Ollie was around. The dog would normally come to the fence and snarl at her, she said.
During the attack which was said to have lasted between two and four minutes Mrs McLeod said she flung her handbag at Ollie but he tore the bag away.
Ollie then let go of the bag and latched on to Mrs McLeod’s bare left arm. She told the court: “My heart’s beating just thinking about it. I was shocked, I was terrified.
She added: “I realised that if he got me down to the ground I would be very vulnerable.
“It doesn’t bear thinking about what could have happened. If it had been a child, they wouldn’t have stood a chance because he was so strong.
“It took me all my strength to keep from hitting the ground. It seemed like a long time because there was nobody there to pull him off.”
Reid, whose address was given in court as Balmanno in Perthshire, had denied the charge of allowing her pet to be dangerously out of control and said that her neighbour had exaggerated the length and severity of the attack.
Mrs McLeod, who could not be reached for comment yesterday, was treated at Perth Royal Infirmary and prescribed a course of antibiotics. Her hip injury required daily dressing over a period of two weeks.
Sheriff Tait said that Mrs McLeod had been an “impressive witness”.
Reid has declined to comment.