A dog owner burst into tears and said she was “heartbroken” after a court ordered that her unregistered XL Bully must be put down.
Shannon Kane, 41, had previously admitted possessing the regulated breed without an exemption certificate at Tain Sheriff Court.
But when she appeared for sentencing this week, the court heard she had still not managed to apply for an exemption for one-year-old Zeus.
Since August 1 last year, it has become illegal to own the controversial breed in Scotland without an exemption certificate.
Fiscal depute Martina Eastwood told the court that on October 17 last year, police called at Kane’s Abbotshaven home in Balintore after receiving information that she had an unregistered XL Bully.
Ms Eastwood told the court that Zeus “presented as friendly” but was so “boisterous” that officers were unable to accurately measure it.
She said it took Kane five minutes to put the dog on a lead, and the owner did not have a muzzle for Zeus, despite one being required to walk the dog.
The dog was taken to an Easter Ross vet and the breed was confirmed, after which Zeus was left in Kane’s care and given advice about muzzling and exemption.
Solicitor Molly Gallagher, for Kane, told the court that her client had inherited the dog from her son when it was just a puppy.
She said: “She cares a lot for the dog.”
Ms Gallagher told the court that, since the police intervention, Kane had ensured Zeus was microchipped and neutered as well as putting insurance in place for him, but confirmed her client had not managed to apply for an exemption.
The Scottish Government’s window for applying for exemptions closed in July last year – several months before the initial police visit – and new ones can only be granted with a court order.
Dog’s death sentence
Sheriff Neil Wilson told Kane: “You inherited this dog from your son – it is a dog that you are incapable of doing the appropriate things for.
“What does cause me considerable concern is that the difficulty with your XL Bully dog was brought to your attention in October – you have not done, and I have no confidence you will do, the registration.”
Noting that “the dog was described as boisterous and difficult to control”, the sheriff said: “In all the circumstances, I see no alternative but to order the destruction of the dog.”
Kane interjected from the dock, crying: “Oh no! Please don’t do that your honour – he has not done anything wrong.”
She then fled the courtroom in tears.
Speaking after the conclusion of the case, she told the Press and Journal she was “absolutely heartbroken” at the sentence and said that it was impossible for her to obtain an exception certificate because the deadline to do so had passed before the legal proceedings even started.
She said: “There was no way of obtaining an exemption without a court order.
“I was going to hit a brick wall, there was no getting around it.”
She added that she hoped to appeal the sentence.