A dog owner allowed his spaniel to jump on a woman and bite her on the crotch, a court has heard.
John O’Reilly admitted being in charge of the untethered and unmuzzled dog, which was dangerously out of control when it attacked the woman at Capernaum Court, Limekilns, on October 18, 2021.
Dunfermline Sheriff Court heard it was the second time his dog had been involved in an incident.
O’Reilly, 74, of Brucehaven Road, Limekilns, was fined for the offence – but the court ruled against having his dog put to sleep.
‘I can only apologise’
Procurator fiscal depute Amy Robertson told the court a couple were walking through Limekilns when they saw O’Reilly walking with his spaniel.
She said: “They could see at the time the dog was not on a lead and the accused appeared to be oblivious to what the dog was doing.
“Without warning, the dog ran towards the female witness and jumped up and bit her on her crotch through her clothing.
“The witness… shouted to the accused ‘your dog has just bitten me’
“Her male partner also shouted to the accused he should have the dog on a lead.
“The accused replied ‘I can only apologise’ and thereafter put his dog on a lead”.
The fiscal depute said the woman later attended Queen Margaret Hospital minor injuries clinic and it was confirmed by medical professionals she had sustained a bite to her groin but did not require surgery.
Ms Robertson said the woman posted details of what happened on the Limekilns Facebook page and received a reply telling her who the dog belonged to, and the fact the same dog had bitten another person in 2020.
The woman then contacted the dog warden, who advised she was aware of “a similar incident involving the same dog” in June of that year.
Police were contacted and the woman provided officers with photos of the bite.
Officers then charged O’Reilly with an offence under the Dangerous Dogs Act.
‘Not a danger to anyone’
Defending himself in court, O’Reilly said his dog was slightly ahead of him as he walked onto the road from the beach.
He then heard a woman “cry out,” he said
O’Reilly told the court: “The dog is always on a lead and always muzzled since the dog warden came to see me”.
Sheriff Mark O’Hanlon asked why the dog was not on a lead after the previous June 2020 incident, to which O’Reilly replied: “We were not advised.
“At that time… I was not present. It was my wife who had the dog, but we were not advised that the dog had to be on a lead and muzzled”.
O’Reilly added: “She is an excitable dog, she jumps up and bites clothes”.
Asked by the sheriff what he had to say about the possible destruction of the dog and whether he is fit to own it, O’Reilly said: “I think the dog is not a danger to anyone.
“I don’t think I am a bad person”.
O’Reilly, now retired, said he has owned the dog for eight years and had owned a dog previously when he was first married.
Sheriff O’Hanlon decided against a dog destruction order and fined O’Reilly £300.
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