A dangerous dog is facing destruction after he attacked three people, despite his owner “lavishing it with love and adoration”.
Kieran White’s brown and white Staffordshire bull terrier Max went on a “biting spree” in Banff attacking three other dog owners and their pets on three different occasions.
Max left one woman needing medical treatment after he bit her arm and refused to let go.
The Staffie also left another dog needing vet care after he made “several puncture wounds” in its tail.
Another dog and its owner were also both bitten in a third incident.
White, 40, had left Max off his leash on all three occasions, Banff Sheriff Court was told.
His defence agent today claimed the dog has been abused his whole life – and had even been used in robberies by a previous owner.
He said White had aided a “radical turnaround” in Max’s behaviour by “lavishing love and adoration upon him”.
However fiscal depute Victoria Kerr said the very sight of Max left other Banff dog walkers scooping their pets into their arms in fear.
The first attack happened on Christmas Day 2020 in Boyndie Street when Max launched himself from a garden at two ladies walking their dogs.
He bit one woman on the leg leaving a “puncture hole” which had to be treated with antibiotics.
Less than a month later, on January 24 last year, two other dog walkers were in the town’s Whinhill Terrace when Max ran at their dog and sank his teeth into its tail.
That dog needed two trips to the vets with the bills totalling just under £200.
‘Get control of your dog’
Four weeks later, on February 24, Max lunged at another dog walker in Seafield Crescent, who managed to pick up his dog and out of harm’s way.
“He jumped on and bit the man’s arm instead,” the fiscal said. “He held on for a short time before letting go.
“The man shouted at the accused to get control of his dog. White took hold of Max and walked away from them.
“The man stood waiting as they left but the dog broke free of the accused and ran back to bite the man’s dog and the man’s shoes.”
‘Astonished’ he still has the dog
White, of Duncan Street, Banff, admitted three charges of having his dog out of control in a public place.
Defence agent Peter Keene said Max was still in White’s care – a fact Sheriff Robert McDonald said “astonished” him after such a “biting spree”.
Mr Keene, however, argued his client had been working hard to turn the dog’s behaviour around.
“He tells me Max has been abused ever since he was a puppy and he a long line of previous owners who have not done well by him,” he said.
“It had never been to a vet and had been locked inside for sometimes days on end.
“It had even been taken on robberies by a previous owner.”
‘Landed on all four paws now’
“The dog has not had the best of starts in life,” Mr Keene added.
“But in Mr White he has landed on all four paws because this man is completely devoted to the animal and because of the love and adoration he lavished on the animal his behaviour is on spot.”
Sheriff McDonald questioned why the dog was still in Mr White’s care and suggested his humane destruction could be “the default” he must consider.
“As it stands I have got a dog that has attacked three different people on three different occasions and so destruction is the default I must consider,” the sheriff said.
Mr Keene pleaded that the “radical change” in Max’s behaviour since meant his destruction was not required.
The sheriff called for a report from Aberdeenshire Council’s dog warden and deferred sentencing for two weeks.
For all the latest court cases in Aberdeen and the latest crime and breaking incidents, join our new Facebook group HERE.
