A north-east woman wept in the dock yesterday after her dog was sentenced to death.
Susan Stephen, also known as Allan, lost control of her Pharaoh Hound on March 26 this year when it attacked a small Scottie dog and its owner as she tried to block the attack.
A passerby was then bitten by the dog, named Jasper, when he tried to intervene as Allan stood and watched.
The 60-year-old’s solicitor, Stuart Flowerdew, told the court his client didn’t do anything to stop her pet because she was so shocked by the incident.
Allan, of Swan Road, Ellon was walking two of her dogs on the street when she lost control of Jasper and let go of his lead when he launched his vicious assault.
She previously pleaded guilty to a contravention of the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991.
Mr Flowerdew outlined the various steps Allan had taken to ensure the incident wouldn’t happen again but he was unable to convince the sheriff that Jasper wasn’t a danger to the public.
He said his client “recognised the serious nature of the incident” and had since bought her pet a muzzle.
She had arranged for husband to walk the Pharaoh Hound following the attack as he was in a better position to control him on the lead.
There had also been ongoing arrangements to get the dog trained to behave better as Jasper was assessed as a “good candidate” for training.
Allan’s solicitor added there had been no trouble with the dog since March and his client believed his unruly behaviour was due to a change in living circumstances.
The pet was brought up on a rural farm as Allan had recently moved to a new home and Jasper “remained a family dog”.
Sheriff William Summers pointed out reports outlined Jasper was still behaving aggressively whenever he saw another dog and had already caused injuries to another animals neck, back and femur, in his first attack.
“I am not satisfied the dog would not pose a risk to public safety,” he said.
Sheriff Summers added that the report on Jasper omitted to address the injuries he caused to the Scottie dog and highlighted Allan still had difficulty controlling him.
He fined her a total of £320 for failing to intervene when she let her pet loose and it attacked two people.
Allan was also ordered to hand over Jasper within seven days for him to be destroyed.