A court has ruled on a destruction order for a dangerously out of control dog after multiple incidents
Liverpool: So, there’s this woman named Amy Derber who had a bit of a rough time with her German shepherd. Last April, her dog bit a vet who was just dropping off some meds at her horse yard. Not cool, right?
Fast forward to recently, and guess what? This wasn’t the first time her dog had caused trouble. It turns out there was another incident where the dog injured someone just weeks before the vet situation.
The court heard that Amy admitted to two charges of having a dangerously out of control dog. One of those charges was for causing injury. This all went down at her home on Warrington Road.
The vet got a nasty puncture wound and a bruise when the dog jumped up and pinned her against her car. Amy rushed out, got the dog under control, and took it inside. She told the police she usually kept the dog in the barn to protect her horses.
Her lawyer mentioned that the dog isn’t really a pet; it’s more of a guard dog that barks at trespassers. Apparently, it had scared off some intruders before but never actually attacked them. Amy felt really bad about what happened.
When it came time for sentencing, the magistrates thought she was a responsible owner and didn’t see her dog as a public safety risk. They decided on a contingency destruction order, which means the dog has to be muzzled and on a lead when visitors come over.
Amy got hit with a £500 fine and had to pay some compensation and costs. For the April incident, she faced another fine of £440, plus court costs and a victim surcharge.
Luckily for the dog, the court opted for a contingent destruction order again instead of a full destruction order. They felt it wasn’t necessary since Amy had taken steps to improve safety, like putting up warning signs and installing a fence and electric gate.
The magistrates were satisfied that the dog wasn’t a danger to anyone, especially since there haven’t been any incidents since April. So, it looks like Amy and her dog might just be okay after all.
