A Fife dog walker who punched and kicked his Rottweiler before setting it on two women has been allowed to walk free from court.
William Smith, 64, has been ordered to stay out of trouble for six months after being found guilty of several charges at Dundee Sheriff Court.
Smith, from Auchtermuchty, denied any wrongdoing, but was found guilty of repeatedly kicking the dog on the body and punching it on the head.
He was found guilty of grabbing the dog by the face and pulling it in front of horrified witnesses at Birnie Loch near Ladybank in Fife on 21 April 2021.
Encouraged dog to attack women
Smith was also found guilty of two charges of encouraging the dog to attack women in the same location when they questioned him about his behaviour.
And he was found guilty of acting in a threatening or abusive manner in St Andrews on 16 April 2021 by swearing and uttering threats of violence.
Fiscal depute Sarah Wilkinson asked the court to grant a dog banning order against Smith, but that was also put off until November this year when he will be sentenced.
The court was told that there had been an incident while other people had been walking their dogs on the lochside and had seen Smith attacking his pet.
Sheriff Jillian Martin-Brown deferred sentence for good behaviour and told Smith – a first offender – that she was giving him a chance to “show this was a blip.”
For the latest court cases across Tayside and Fife, join our Courts Facebook page.
