A MOTHER whose escaped dog shook a toddler “like a rag doll” told a court yesterday that she never wanted to own one again.
The 21-month-old suffered deep puncture wounds when a Staffordshire Bull Terrier and an English Bull Terrier escaped from owner Victoria Betnay’s house on March 24. One of the dogs then clamped its jaws around the toddler’s leg.
Plastic surgeons treated the tot under general anaesthetic but said the little boy would be scarred for life.
Sarah MacKay, prosecuting, said that the little boy and his mother had been walking hand-in-hand through the park off Brasenose Driftway, Cowley, Oxford, when both dogs, named Fifi and Taz, rushed at them after they had escaped from Betnay’s house.
At an earlier hearing the court was told that the dog “had hold of the child’s leg and was shaking him like a doll”.
Betnay was ordered to carry out six months of community service and to pay £500 compensation.
She was told that she would be able to keep dogs in the future as she was a “fit and proper person”, although Oxford Magistrates’ Court was told that
Betnay had been so devastated she had no intention of getting another one. Both dogs were destroyed without the need for a court order.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel