A pair of “banned breed” pit bull-type dogs face destruction after they ran amok in Kinross and mauled a pensioner’s “beloved pup” to death.
Yvonne McPhee, 71, told a court how she watched in horror as Kai, her Shih Tzu, was thrown about “like a ragdoll” by the two larger dogs.
“I have never experienced grief like it,” she said.
Perth Sheriff Court heard how dogs Kushka and Zeus, along with an American Bulldog called Baxter, savaged Kai as she walked through the town’s Burns-Begg Street on October 20 last year.
Kushka and Zeus attacked two German pointer dogs later the same day.
The pit bulls’ owner Alistair MacDonald originally denied allowing his dogs to be “dangerously out of control” but changed his plea to guilty on the second day of a trial.
Now prosecutors are seeking a destruction order for Kushka and Zeus, who have been kept in kennels since the incident.
They want MacDonald to be banned from keeping animals and he may face a deprivation order to prevent him looking after Baxter, his sister’s dog.
Destruction orders
Prosecutor Stephanie Paterson said Kushka and Zeus were on the “banned breed” list – something MacDonald disputes.
Sheriff William Wood said: “The classification of the dogs may be a moot point.
“I have seen the video of these dogs attacking the Shih Tzu and also CCTV of them behaving aggressively.”
He told MacDonald said: “Now that this matter has resolved, before I can determine an appropriate sentence and additional orders, I will need to acquire background reports.
“I will hear more on the next occasion on whether Kushka and Zeus ought to be subject to destruction orders or not.”
MacDonald, 29, of Burns-Begg Street, will be sentenced next month.
Pet ‘didn’t even get a chance to bark’
Ms McPhee previously told the trial she had collected Kai from kennels after returning from a business trip.
“This was his first walk in Kinross since I came back. I just took him out for a sniff around.”
Ms McPhee was on her way home with Kai at around midday when she saw the two larger dogs off their leads.
“Before I could turn around, both dogs locked onto Kai.
“Kai didn’t even get a chance to bark.”
Ms McPhee said the dogs locked their jaws around her pet’s neck and she screamed for help while trying to pull them away.
The court heard she activated a “pet corrector” noise maker but it had no effect.
I just hope when he went, it was at the first point of contact.”
– Dog owner Yvonne McPhee, 71
Ms McPhee was dragged to the ground twice as she held onto her dog’s lead.
When police arrived they used batons to stop the savagery.
Ms McPhee said: “It was chaos. It was like something out of a bad movie with all these police running about.”
She saw Kai lying, limp, on the pavement.
“He had been flung about like a rag doll.
“I just hope when he went, it was at the first point of contact.”
Ms McPhee did not get the chance to touch Kai because her pet was taken away by police as “evidence”.
She said: “I’m not sleeping. I’m still not eating.
“I keep getting flashbacks. It’s not getting easier.”
‘Impossible’ to bring dogs under control
David Mcilroy told the trial he was walking pointers dogs Hugo and Molly down Kinross High Street, with his wife, at about 2.30pm.
He said three dogs suddenly ran across the road towards them.
One dog went for Hugo, biting his head and ear and leaving with puncture marks on his neck.
“He was just taking it,” Mr Mcilroy said. “He wasn’t fighting back.”
Two other dogs went for 10-year-old Molly, Hugo’s mum.
She suffered wounds to her neck and her ear was partially ripped off, the witness said.
The court heard how other people ran out to help and took the injured dogs into the nearby Salutation Bar, slamming the door behind them.
Mr Mcilroy said a community fundraiser helped pay his £1,180 vet bill.
He said Molly, who he had been looking after for a family member, died just before Christmas of an unrelated health condition.
Asked by fiscal depute Stephanie Paterson if anyone was able to bring the dogs under control, Mr Mcilroy said: “The attacking dogs? No. There were no collars so it was impossible.”
He said his wife since refused to walk down the high street.
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