A Stirling man plans to regain ownership of his XL bully after it was seized by police for being off-lead in public.
Scott Laird was fined £200 for being in charge of the dog, which was not chipped, when it got loose from his garden.
Neighbours could hear the 53-year-old calling after the dog as it made its way down a lane in Grace Crescent, Stirling.
The dog was seized by police and assessed as an XL Bully but was described as being “friendly with everyone on the premises”.
XL Bullys are a banned breed which must be microchipped and owners must hold a certificate of exemption in order to own one.
Solicitor Virgil Crawford, representing Laird, said he intended to complete the paperwork to allow the dog to be returned to him.
He said: “A friend had been visiting… left and appears not to have secured the gate.
“There’s no suggestion the dog was out of control or attacking anyone.
“Although the dog was taken away it’s not due to anything it was doing.”
Laird, of Farm Road, Fallin, admitted allowing the dog to be in a public place without a lead or muzzle on Gracie Crescent on May 10 last year.
Not guilty pleas to three other charges, including allowing a dog to attack a Rottweiler and failing to comply with a dog control notice.
20 years of abuse
A man who abused multiple women over a period of 20 years at locations across Scotland, including at T in the Park at Kinross, has been jailed. A sheriff described Jamie McGough‘s near-two decades of conduct as the most sustained period of domestic abuse and violence he had ever seen.
‘Rat’
A man has been fined £200 after vandalising a Stirling house in a row over a car.
John McCallum had sold the vehicle on promise of payment at a later date.
When the money was not received he painted “Rat” on the property in Menzies Drive.
The city’s sheriff court heard the paint had been washed off but a “residue” remained.
Solicitor Virgil Crawford, defending, said it was McCallum’s “way of displaying his displeasure”,
McCallum, of Kirkhill Road, Aberdeen, admitted wilfully damaging property on June 11 last year.
‘Paedo’ claim
A Stirling man accused a neighbour of being a paedophile as part of a long-standing feud.
Jimmy Mason hurled abuse at the man during an incident in January.
The 53-year-old was apparently responding to the man making a kissing gesture in an attempt at “intimidation” of a young family member of Mason’s.
Fiscal depute Lindsay Brooks told the court: “The parties do not get along.
“It was about 7.30pm and the witness heard a noise coming from outside his house.
“He was the accused, who had his top off and was goading him to fight.
“He said to him ‘I’m coming for you tonight’ and appeared to be intoxicated.
“The accused shouted ‘paedo’ – he shouted this a number of times.”
Solicitor Ken Dalling, defending, said Mason had now moved in a bid to end the feud.
He said Mason suffered PTSD as a result of a home invasion while living in Rhodesia as a child.
He said: “He accepts responsibility for this, it’s entirely his fault.”
Mason admitted behaving in a threatening and abusive manner on James Street on January 10.
Sentence was deferred for him to be of good behaviour.
Hapless fraud bid
A Stirling woman was trying to steal from her mother’s bank at the same moment her mum was there to discuss potential fraud issues with the manager. Alison Forsyth was pretending to staff at the Santander branch in the Stirling‘s Port Street that a bank card in her possession belonged to her. Unbeknownst to her, at the same time the card’s real owner – her mother Barbera – was in the branch due to issues with the account.
Arrested ‘for no good reason’
A Bannockburn man has been fined £180 after shouting and swearing at police.
Robert Barclay admitted behaving in a threatening and abusive manner at his home in Academy Place on November 14 last year.
The court heard that he was being arrested for another matter – which has since been dropped – when he began his abuse.
Solicitor Virgil Crawford said the 52-year-old felt he was being arrested “for no good reason”.
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