The owner of a blue American bulldog that bit a chunk out of a neighbour’s arm has been ordered to pay the man £750 compensation.
Inverness Sheriff Court was told that the 10-month-old dog, called Storm – who has since been put down – bit the man so deeply it exposed muscle.
Storm’s victim had to visit the hospital twice a week for 10 weeks for treatment and has been left permanently scarred.
Aisma Muizniece, 60, has now admitted failing to keep her animal under control during the incident, that happened outside her home in Blarmor Avenue, Inverness, on June 6, 2021.
Sheriff Ian Cruickshank heard that Muizniece allowed her teenage son, who has learning difficulties, to take the dog for a walk along her street.
Neighbours expressed concern about dog
A 67-year-old man, who was out with his own dog, was bitten when he stepped in to protect his pet from Storm.
Procurator Fiscal Sharon Ralph told the court that Muizniece’s son was pulled off his feet as the dog charged the neighbour, who was left bleeding heavily from his deep wound.
She added that other neighbours had expressed concern about the dog and that Muizniece’s partner had told police when she was charged that the animal did not like men.
“The consultant said it was fortunate that no veins or arteries had been damaged by the dog,” Mrs Ralph added.
Defence solicitor Willie Young said his client was “ashamed and embarrassed by what had happened to her neighbour, who, she tells me, retains a good relationship with”.
‘It is obvious he lost control of the animal’
He said: “They had had a dog which died of cancer a couple of months before they got this dog from a breeder in Glasgow.
“They paid a not insignificant sum for it. In the early stages, there had been no signs of aggression towards individuals or other dogs and it had only been with them for a matter of months.
“Normally she and her son, now aged 20, would walk together but it was agreed that her son could walk the dog on his own on occasion.
“It is obvious he lost control of the animal and she fully appreciates the severity of the matter.
“They have since acquired another dog as her son forms a better association with animals than he does with individuals.”
Sheriff Cruickshank placed Muizniece under eight months of social work supervision.
He told her: “This is a serious offence given that a person was injured.
“Had it not been that the dog had already been euthanised, I would have made a destruction order. I am also going to impose compensation based upon your means of £750.”
