Locals signed a petition demanding the return of a 10-stone dog to their community following an incident which saw it maul a man and leave him with a broken arm.
The Turkish Kangal, called Zeus, attacked the man after owner James Lafferty left it chained up in a communal garden while he went to the shops.
Stirling Sheriff Court heard that the dog is currently living with Lafferty’s son in Clackmannanshire but that he was keen to bring it home.
In response, his neighbours had signed a “Bring Zeus Home” petition in the hopes of persuading the city council and the court to be lenient.
Solicitor Fraser McCready said Lafferty “very much regretted what happened”.
He said: “His position all along is that the dog was not dangerous.
“As soon as he was aware of the incident he went to the complainer’s door and apologised for what happened.
“He continues to show remorse.
“He had the dog for approximately three years and it had not caused any difficulty in the past.
“It was well liked in the local community. I have a document – Bring Zeus Home – signed by a number of people in the area.
“It was a young lad aged eight who found the dog and was able to deal with it without difficulty – the dog was never aggressive to him.”
Lafferty, 62, of Menzies Drive, previously admitted culpably and recklessly chaining the dog to a post in the communal garden, whereby it broke free and repeatedly bit its victim on July 12 2023.
Sheriff James Gilchrist told Lafferty that the consequences for the victim were “very serious” however he was unable to make any order in relation to the dog due to the offence to which he had pled to, adding “I leave it to Stirling Council if they allow you to have the dog back”.
He ordered Lafferty to carry out 80 hours of unpaid work.
Farmer’s cattle were ’emaciated’
A Stirling farmer left five Highland cattle to starve after a breakdown in a deal over them being provided with food.
David Cameron had asked Caledonian Marts cattle auctions to feed the animals until they were collected by an animal transport vehicle.
However following a breakdown in his relationship with the firm he failed to ensure the animals were fed.
Stirling Sheriff Court heard that the animals were being kept on land owned by the Mart after being sold by Cameron, but that ultimately he remained responsible for them.
By the time animal welfare officials became involved some of the cattle had a body score of just one out of five, indicating that they were emaciated.
Cameron, 72, was handed a £1,000 after pleading guilty to neglecting the animals.
Online sex chat with ‘child’
A Stirling man who believed he was chatting to a teenage girl online asked her to send him pictures in her school uniform.
David Mackay believed he was talking to a child between the ages of 13 and 16 on November 8 last year.
The 32 year-old, of Bruce Street, admitted attempting to communicate indecently with an older child.
Sentence was deferred for reports.
He was placed on the sex offenders register.
Fatal accident inquiry
A Stirling man died after the Scottish Ambulance Service “lost sight” of him for an hour and did nothing to organise treatment after an initial call for help, an inquiry has found.
A sheriff found the death of Graham Anderson might have been avoided if an employee in the ambulance service control room which received 999 calls had alerted a remote paramedic sooner.
Mr Anderson, 59, died following a heart attack in his office at CalaChem Ltd in Grangemouth on May 1 2020.
The Scottish Ambulance Service has apologised to Mr Anderson’s family.
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