A woman and her dog suffered a terrifying attack by two out-of-control huskies, which had run away from their owner.
The woman, accompanied by her 12-year-old daughter, was repeatedly bitten and her four-month-old pet was savaged.
The puppy was traumatised, never fully recovered and has since been put down.
However, the two huskies remain with their owner, Neil Sutherland, 54, a school janitor, of Ritchie Place, Dunfermline, despite a sheriff saying he was “most surprised” the dogs had not been destroyed.
However, when it came to sentencing, no destruction orders were made and Sheriff Craig McSherry did not ban Sutherland from keeping dogs.
There was also no compensation order for the victim.
Terrifying attack
Sutherland appeared at Dunfermline Sheriff Court and admitted that on June 21 2021 at Woodmill Road, he was the owner of two husky dogs, Aria and River, which were dangerously out of control in Dunfermline.
They were allowed to run free, attack and bite a border collie named Kenzo and repeatedly bite the owner, to her injury.
Depute fiscal Azrah Yousaf said at 7.30pm the woman was with her 12-year-old daughter and Kenzo.
They had just finished training it in the grounds of St Columba’s High School.
As they walked in Woodmill Road, the two huskies ran towards them.
They attacked the puppy, with one sinking its teeth on the collie’s head and the other clamping onto its ear.
The woman managed to pull her dog away and lifted him up into her arms.
The huskies then jumped on her and started biting her arms, while still biting at the pup.
The woman was screaming and tried to run away.
Desperate attempts to help
A passer-by walking his Doberman tried to put himself in the way of the huskies but they continued to go after the woman.
Two off-duty nurses, who were at a sports session at Woodmill High nearby, heard the screams and went to the woman’s help.
Sutherland turned up and said he had six dogs and two of them had “escaped”.
The fiscal said the woman and her daughter were traumatised.
The pup was taken to the vet to have its wounds treated and the woman went to hospital.
She had written to the court to describe the impact the offence had on her family.
She said Kenzo had never fully recovered and had recently been put to sleep, which was heartbreaking for the family.
She had been left with visible scars and her daughter is now terrified of large dogs.
No destruction order
Defence solicitor Elaine Buist said her client and his family have six huskies.
He was putting two of them into his car when they ran off.
She said: “He appreciates what a terrifying incident this would have been.
“He deeply regrets what happened.”
She added Sutherland was very upset to hear how the puppy had been affected by the “tragic” incident.
Sheriff McSherry said: “I’m most surprised these dogs haven’t been put down.
“I’m very concerned about this.
“Huskies are not generally known as dangerous dogs but they’ve behaved in this way.
“The way dogs behave can also be traced to the owners.”
Ms Buist conceded: “It’s surprising the dogs weren’t removed. They are still with him.”
Sheriff McSherry said he had been dissuaded from making any destruction order because of the favourable comments about Sutherland by the dog warden who had investigated.
The sheriff fined Sutherland £520.
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