A WOMAN put on trial accused of letting her dogs terrorise two youngsters claims she lost two stone and split up with her partner because of the “nightmare” of the court case.
Eleanor Slaughter said she had “been to hell and back” and was even forced to flee the Highlands because of the stress she was under.
Yesterday, the 50-year-old was cleared of behaving in a threatening or abusive manner likely to cause fear or alarm by refusing to take control of her four Labradors when they were upsetting two young children.
She was also alleged to have shouted at the youngsters’ father when he asked her to control the animals. Miss Slaughter went on trial at Fort William Sheriff Court yesterday accused of committing the offences at Hospital Lochan, Glencoe, on October 16 last year.
But a sheriff agreed with a submission from her lawyer that there was no case to answer and found her not guilty.
The parents of the two children – one of primary school age and one of nursery age – claimed the youngsters had been terrified by the experience.
The children’s 41-year-old mother said they had been on holiday in the area and were out on mountain bikes when they met the dogs. She said the older child previously had bad experiences with dogs and panicked when they came near him, especially when one started growling. The younger child was also upset. She added: “I was feeling scared myself and worried for my children.”
She told the court that, initially, they could not see the owner of the dogs.
Miss Slaughter, formerly of Lorn Drive, Glencoe, but now living in Cumbria, turned up a few minutes later talking on her phone and ignored their requests to call off her dogs.
The woman said Miss Slaughter eventually finished her call and said the dogs were friendly, but she pointed out that every dog owner said that. She added that her husband ended up having a shouting match with Miss Slaughter.
Giving evidence, the father said the “pack of dogs” came bounding towards them barking.
He said: “They ran right up to us and started circling and milling around us. I felt intimidated and the children were in tears and screaming. I stood in front of my wife and kids to try to get the dogs away.”
He said he shouted at Miss Slaughter to get off the phone and take control of her dogs, but she ignored him, so he shouted louder.
Miss Slaughter’s defence agent, solicitor Edward Thornton, suggested the pair were dog-haters and had over-reacted to the friendly attention being paid to them by the Labradors.
The father said: “I’m not anti-dog. I’m as friendly as the next person to dogs. I’ve been approached by friendly dogs and I’ve been approached by aggressive dogs in the past and these were certainly aggressive dogs. With four dogs milling around us, we did not feel safe. We herded together for safety.”
But he agreed that they had not been bitten by the animals.
At the end of the Crown evidence, Mr Thornton asked Sheriff Richard Davidson to find that there was no case to answer.
The sheriff agreed and found Miss Slaughter not guilty.
He said: “This was, at worst, an unfortunate set of circumstances in which, it seems to me, that you probably have been as much a victim as the children.”